Thu, 27 Apr 2017 12:36:07 +0000
By AARON CHIYANZO
ZAMBIA is stuck with over 52 tonnes of both legal and illegal ivory worth over US$ 100 million because of the worldwide trade ban of the commodity, says Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda.
Mr Banda said that Zambia had plenty of ivory in stock which government was still deciding on how to dispose it off.
He said that some of it was confiscated from poachers by the authorities but that some was collected from elephants that died on their own.
The minister explained that Zambia was sitting on over 53.2 tonnes of ivory which it could not sell off because of the worldwide trade ban of the commodity.
He pointed out that 27.2 tonnes of the total 53.2 tonnes was legally collected while 26 tonnes was confiscated from poachers.
“We have plenty of it at our warehouses, some of it legal and others confiscated from poachers,” he said.
Mr Banda, however, said that government was still consulting on the other ways in which the ivory could be utilised other than burning it.
“We will seek directive from Cabinet on what should be done to that ivory. We can’t sell it because of the worldwide trade ban of ivory, where can we sell this ban?” he asked.
Mr Banda said that no country would buy the ivory even if put on the market because of the current worldwide trade ban.
He, however, said that Zambia was currently engaging the international community to find a solution as to what should be done with the ivory in stock.
He said that all countries with ivory were all consulting each other to have a concerted agreement on what would be done to the commodity.
And international statistics indicate that the price of ivory taken from African elephants slaughtered for their tusks had tripled in the past four years in China which is the world’s biggest market.
The prices had risen for a kilogram of raw ivory on the international market from US$750 to over US$2, 500.
