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Dear Editor,
Its not only the issue of funding @ FD that is the matter.
There is an aspect of unemplyment for students that graduate from either CBU or ZFC. Can you imagine that the department and gvt (the main employer) in particular last employed foresters in 1998 on a mass scale!!!
This situation has left many of us who have studied this programme to start thinking otherwise or change careers and as a matter of fact become destitutes as though we have never been to school.
PF gvt hear our cry, the unemployed but trained forestry professionals.
#1, I sympathise with you and I also wish to pay tribute to my friend Mr Fanwell Nduna (ex ZAFICO MD) who was put to rest last Friday 22/02/2013 in Ndola MHSRIP. He had forestry at his heart for Zambia.
It’s sad how Forestry has been neglected. No wonder illegal logging and other harmful human activities in forests have kept on increasing.
The problem with the Forestry Department is not so much of Government, but governance at the Department level. How come it is the only Department that has not been restructured in the whole former Ministry (MTENR) and even in its new Ministry of Lands??? Besides, it is only one that ahs failed to effect a forestry that was enacted in 1999 but ocntinues withh the archaic 1973 Act which is not only anarchronistic but also out of sync with the Forestry Policy, which it is implementing???? Start with changing leadership at Forestry Department and vibrant leadership will change things.
Not people who just specialise in holding each Minister hostage and feed him lies to hold on to their jobs!!!
Honestly, is the government to blame for anything? You educated people in this department, stand up like Clive Chirwa did and get the attension of GRZ. Goverment has alot of work both international and domestic; To sit and cry waiting for Government to see you and help you is the most stupid thing you can do. Even after being employed, you will be saying there is no funding, start using your heads.
As a young boy of 7 in 1960 I used to escort my late Mum whenever she went charcoal burning. The Forestry Guard ‘Kapenda-Mabula’ was the most feared in the bush than a policeman on patrol. Most Burners had to pay some money evey time they went charcoal-burning. I am Activist of Treevolution. Charcoal burning can generate lots of money for Govt, but most important for every cut tree another has to be grown and tendered by the burners before getting another permit. This need lots of Guard/foresters to be employed. Forestry is a big industry which has been neglected in Zambia. Trained Foresters should be innovative to create own employment by production and trade in forestry products like timber, furniture, large scale tree farming, beekeeping and selling of dry wood for cooking…
The idea of conservation of our natural resources could do with renewed emphasis from primary school level. If one’s experience is to view trees for example as merely charcoal it is probably a necessity and the difference between cooking food or starving. Our planners know by now how ‘BBQ’s’ are us. The fact that we can continually provide natural replacements over time in protected areas is reinforced through education of the merits of forestry much like fishing, farming etc. Blessed with resource, now it is time to apply skills, plan, fund and preserve just don’t forget to encourage the next generation who can and will blame us for any lack of foresight.
I still wonder why ZFC and CBU enroll every year coz there are no jobs. Expensive as it is in fees our parents struggled to make us educated but how can we pay back. please ba government help us
Its not only the problem of Forestry as a whole; its the issue of “foreseeing a problem” before it hits – and we call that fire fighting. In Zambia leaders react to symptoms; and by the time the react, it would be too late. Forestry department is a crucial stakeholder to development; you only see the importance when you are hit by the shortage of timber; by the time you want to make changes, it will be too late; you have to wait for 35 years to correct the problem. Look at the fisheries; Roads; Sewer treatment plants; water treatment and electricity generation. All these problems such as accidents; smelly towns; garbage collection to mention but a few are a symptom of poor implementation of plans or poor political investment on things that can make people’s lives better. 1991 – 2011…
#8: continued: What you see now are the symptoms of poor performance of a government. The crucial point is which government? I am sure you can tell. Unfortunately for PF, they have taken over all these challenges, and personally, I feel for them because they are to blame for the inaction of our previous government. Poor Sata and the team need to spend a lot of time investing in public relations as well as showing people what they have done with reference to what was not done between 1991 – 2011. This for me, is the greatest challenge for PF. E.g, Zesco has performed poorly on this front; Roads department again poor; except after 53 people died. the list can be endless.
As a nation we need to invest in “IMPLEMENTATION” OR WALKING THE TALK. AMEN
Well said. There is a reluctance to accept responsibility for the legacies we leave and a focus on pointing out only the success stories. Having been away for a while it was the deterioration for me that stuck out more than the ‘development’. Perhaps living with things falling apart around us slowly means we don’t see the importance of a culture of maintenance. The positive thing is that on the ground people are actually willing to do what needs to be done. ‘Politics’ at the moment is getting in the way of ‘hands on’, roll up sleeves and get the work done ethic. This is the responsibility of all parties but what could make the difference is ourselves not waiting for someone else to get the job done and finding ways in our individual areas to make a difference. Doing my part as I…
castrate them…deforesters
i personally think the government is to blame for deteriorating forest resources in this country. all other government departments are funded apart from the forestry department. maybe other district forestry offices are better but the kasempa district forestry office is in a deplorable state. how are they supposed to carry out their routine forest patrols when they dont have not even a biscycle, they dont even have a common desktop computer in the DFOs office. all their monthly reports are hand written. if we do not want our forest to become extinct something should be done urgently because the officers are not motivated to work in that despite working in such awful working environmental they are the least paid government employees.