The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given all recalled diplomats up to end of January 2017 to surrender their diplomatic passports and stop using foreign diplomatic (CD) number plates on their vehicles.
The recalled diplomats are required to obtained Zambian number plates within a period of six months after their return in Zambia and to surrender their diplomatic passports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
But Ministry Spokesperson Dorcas Chileshe said the Ministry has noted with concern that the continued use of foreign CD number plates by recalled diplomats who have been in the country for more than six months since their return from the foreign service, thereby committing an offence of evading payment of road tax.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba recently cautioned all recalled Zambian diplomats against the continued use of CD number plates and diplomatic passports following their recall from foreign service.”
“Following this directive, the Ministry has given recalled diplomats 31st January 2017 to surrender CD number plates and ensure that they obtain Zambian number plates. This applies to diplomatic number plates as well,” Ms Chileshe said.
it seems there is no order in your ministry Mr minister
There is no order in the WHOLE OF THIS PF Government!
Have the Ministers paid back their salaries for the time they were illegally in office?
NO!
So why expect anything different from these diplomats?
They will just wait until the matter is out of the news and continue their looting.
remember Nevers Mumba who wanted to cling on to the veep passport YEAR AFTER BEING FIRED
So they came back to Zambia with the vehicles they were using abroad, that were registered abroad and are using foreign number plates at home. How can someone evade Tax with a foreign number plate? What a dull spokesperson
You must be ignorant instead. If they come back to Zambia they are supposed to pay Import duty, except for one allowed duty free. Remember cars can sometimes be cleared inland and not at the border. However, I dont see how a car with a diplomatic reg should not pay road tax.
@CAS, you are a fool, you are trying to contradict @story teller, but instead you have just parroted what he/she has said…..there is no way that these recalled diplomats could avoid tax that way. The ignorant one is the spokesperson in the story
They evade taxes by not buying road tax
BUT WHAT IS GEORGE MUBANGA AND ILYASHI LAY PANO ISONDE DOING IN SWEDEN?? IT SIMPLY PORTRAYS THE LEVEL OF MEDIOCRE REPRESENTATION OF PF GOVT EVEN ABROAD. LET’S PLEASE TRY TO CONCEAL OUR MEDIOCRITY FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY..
This type of mediocrity is shaming to Zambia. This is not news worthy to the general public for simple reasons:
1- Foreign Afffairs know these people personally how they were appointed and where they were posted.
2- Despite the incompetency exibited by Harry Kalaba, Zambia foreign affairs has standing orders regarding recalled diplomats. His failure to implement these orders should not be seen in the media that he is a hard talking working minister. He is a failure refering to Lungu as the chief diplomat. Kalaba is not fit for the purpose.
This is what happens when you appoint PF cadres from Katondo street as diplomats…there is absolute shambles under the so called leadership of Lazy Bum Edgar.
Just arrest those buggers and free their accounts so that the come back to their senses
It is very unfair to start treating recalled diplomats who served and represented Zambia in this manner by giving them deadlines on when to retain their diplomatic passports. These diplomats are less than 50 in number and the ministry knows who they are and there contact details. The ministry of foreign affairs should use ‘diplomatic ‘ means to communicate to these recalled diplomats and retrieve the passports instead of using the press. Merry Xmas
The so called diplomats or former diplomats are a shame unto themselves and the Republic as well. They are treated like this because firstly there is nothing so diplomatic about them. They do not want to abide by the rules of the nation. We are told Nevers kept the diplomatic car for over a year after returning from diplomatic mission whether this was true rumour or not it give some clue as to the calibre of our diplomats. Our late President MCS (MHSRIP) was accused of keeping GOVT vehicle long after he left the position. It is this luck of respect for our own institutions that make us who we are disgraced and we will continue to be disgraced.. Diplomats for once protect your and respect our institutions and Govt property. The ministry also has people who have no capacity to do their Job…
Isnt readily available transportation part of standing inventory at all Embassies? Why would one bring
back an official vehicle upon being recalled? Sounds more like theft to me! Who pays for yhe shipment?
Why not leave those vehicles in those countries they have been registered and be used by the new incoming diplomats instead of buying new vehicles for those new diplomats?? They should not only surrender the diplomatic passport, vehicles as well .. they are gvt property.
I am surprised that this issue is coming to the fore now. The practice has been going on for a long time not only under this regime but also the previous regimes. I know of several diplomats who came back to Zambia even over a decade ago but their vehicles are still registered with foreign number plates. Let us not only concentrate on these new arrivals but also cast a net wider by asking those who retired a long time ago in the foreign service to also register their vehicles with RATSA.