Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Jean Kapata has said all illegal cargoes of Mukula logs that have been seized by the state will be forfeited to the state and sold off.
Ms. Kapata said the Zambia Forestry and Forestry Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) Limited will auction off the contraband. She was speaking when she addressed ministerial staff in Ndola today.
The Minister expressed concern about the illegal trade and indiscriminate cutting of the trees whose botanical name is Pterocarpus chrysothrix that is growing and threatening Zambian forests. The tree takes about 80 years to reach full growth and maturity.
Government to date has suspended export of wood or logs of any Timber Tree Species including logs of the famous Mukula Tree.
Ms Kapata who earlier this year spoke after the ban said Timber export permits will only be issued for processed or sawn timber.
She explained that the move is in accordance with Statutory Instrument number 94 of 2015.
Meanwhile, some traders have complained that the origin of their cargoes is actually the Democratic Republic of Congo and are upset that the Zambian authorities are seizing their cargoes that are in transit to other destinations.
China as well as Thailand in particular where the demand is almost insatiable has fuelled the illegal trade and smuggling.
Smugglers have devised methods of exporting the timber, through neighboring countries such as Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Prior to the surge in demand for the tree species in 2014, Zambians showed general disinterest as villagers used it in constructing their mud houses, farmers used it to cure their tobacco, and railway companies used it as slippers.
The rampant growth in the Mukula trade awoke interest in monitoring how the timber industry has been operating and how the country’s precious timber is being exported. This sudden increase in demand forced government to suspend the issuance of licences for harvesting the species and now being found with a piece of the tree has became a serious crime.
Why don’t we have people convicted and jailed for this economic sabotage activity. Kapata and her Boss Lungu are telling us Mukula trees have been seized. From who? Ba Koswe Mumpoto bafula
Prevention is better than cure. Those logs are dead wood. They are irreplaceable. Despite the fact you are going to auction them, the loss is permanent.
@Mushota the Government makes decisions on behalf of the people and not government making decisions to suit themselves. This same Minister has alergedly been the greatest beneficiary of harvesting the Mukula. Right now there is a series of video clips circulating in which some Mukula has been seized which is said to belong to her. But then Mushota what would you know. I understand she is your auntie!
Why not either get real value by exporting these logs to the very endusers or burn these logs as we do with Ivory?
The DEAL is: Get arrested, released, auction to fronts of the same guys who where arrested at give away prices. In addition the EXPORT-BURN will have been defeated technically, as not only will these same logs find their way to the intended destination in China but also other new logs will be exported using these auction processed papers. ITS A CIRCUS – DONCHI KUBEBA + KOLOPA ALL CASH OPPORTUNITIES. 2018 here we come.
Yet she doesn’t give any account of seized contraband….only a fooool would trust these petty thieves!!
That should be the same minster involved in smuggling mukula. She shall auction and buy it herself at nothing price. We hear she deals with mukula since she was appointed.
Zambia will auction all seized Mukula logs and the money will go straight into Jean Kapatas pocket!
She has made the right decision
She strikes me as a level headed minister.
Mukula logs are really the jurisdiction of the Government to chose what they do with them.
Am I making sense ?
Thanks
BB2014,2016
@Mushota do you sleep? You are fanatic about LT. I can imagine what you do on Facebook ??
Since I got my PhD I deleted my Facebook.
I’m not on LT as much as I would like.
I happen to write a few articles.
I suggest you stick to the topic before you annoy me once more !
I’m so fragile of late.
Thanks
BB2914,2016
Mushota are u flipping serious? U strike me like somebody who is very stupid. That flipping minister is the head of the smuggling job. Most of the mukula is hers if u didn’t know
U stupid biachi
@Mushota did you say you were writing your PhD on Facebook? I can’t believe you have written any article more that one paragraph. Please oblige me by publishing one your “few articles” on LT or any other blog. As a former BB I’m sure one of your privileges is free parking on LT. Or perhaps LT realised their folly……
That is shadow boxing. As corrupt as this PF government is, most of the logs leaving the country are less likely to be detected, much less, accounted for. The battle is against corruption. And corruption is the government. It is a lost battle.
INSTITUTIONALIZED & ENDEMIC CORRUPTION FOR THAT MATTER.
Director of Forestry, PS + Minister herself are at this trade make no mistake!
PF cadres have been fronted as illegal sellers but those Chinese you saw are the real guys behind this trade; 1+1 the Chinese are finding it rather difficult or rather costly to corrupt the entire Supply Chain, thus get into Police so that they themselves can now be escorting these logs until loaded on vessels to China.
Check closely, Chinese are already working with ZNS ZAF ARMY and now Police top Command under Military and Security Exchange Programes
It highly rumoured and believed that the President, ba Jean the Baptist and many other corrupt and insincere govt officials are the ones who are still harvesting and exporting. Why don’t we hear news of imprisonment kanshi
I still don’t know the academic credentials of this woman. Maybe it’s her heavy voice which misleads me.
Like others have said here, the root of the Mukuka problem is embedded in corruption.
Why are we not planting seedlings already if this tree is so valuable
Some ministerial appointments I’ve never agreed with
Mr Kudos,
She is a hospital NURSE, what I may not be sure is if its Zambia Enrolled Nurse (ZEN) or Zambia Registered Nurse (ZRN) or Zombie Mortuary Nursing (ZMN).
However, technologies are there for the urgent and rapid propagation of these species of tree tissue but CORRUPTION & INERTIA by the criminal minds in these offices. Its law of demand and supply vs the price equilibrium for those involved and not public good
They are not planting any trees because they are too lazy and they do not have 80 years to wait…they eat where they did not sow, spend money they do not have just like they have depleted the reserves …we have told you this before about Lazy Lungu but it DOES NOT sink in your empty cadre shell on top of your head.
If we can get rid of corruption then we can stop Mukula tree smugling
This woman has failed in her constituency just busy with mukula tree business
Well done for once Jean kapata for banning export of unprocessed timber….you need to ban the export also of processed indginous timber…..only farmed timbers should be exported….lets at least try to preserve our forests…
And who pockets the money???????????????????
Ghosts cut down the trees…then hire truck drive it with paperwork to be shipped out to China. No one will be arrested as they are all in it!!
Hypocrite
Is she paid to make this speech?
I have just watched a bunch of videos taken by PF youths who have seized ten trucks loaded with mukula under police and ZNS escort so what this useless minister is talking a about makes no sense as usual. The police are standing there looking like twits ubushiku
KAPATA THINK ABOUT WHATEVER YOU DO CAREFULLY.
CREATE A SUSTAINABLE ECO-SYSTEM TO BENEFIT ZAMBIANS AND ENVIRONMENT.
PUT UP A RESEARCH CENTER AND APPROPRIATE TAX AND DUTY COLLECTION TO PAY FOR RESEARCH.
FORESTRY REPLANTING AND TRAINING IS ONLY WAY FORWARD.
ALLOW THE TREES TO FEED ITS MARKETS AND PEOPLE LIVING THERE. Rule of demand and supply.
DO NO CREATE ANOTHER MARIJUANA PRODUCT.
I have planted seed of this lovely tree called Mukula and 6 have germinated. How I wish I had larger area where to plant. It is said that when you plant a fruit tree you do it for next generation and if the Ministry can lead us into planting these trees, it would go a long way in ensuring the same is available for the next generation.
The PF govt only eats for today never mind the next generation!!
The next generation will have enough trouble repaying the US $ TWENTY BILLION kaloba that Lungu and his fellow thieves like Kapata have already borrowed and STOLEN to.have time to worry about trees.
But zaffico has been exporting the same since March 2016.Who are you trying to cheat?And money realised only PF knows were it went!!!!!
Auction the mukula and pocket
How on earth can you not track down and arrest people in this trade who are using trucks to move contraband…you are either targeting cargo from DRC and stealing it. In the illegal Elephant and Rhino trade ZAWA always gives an account of what they have captured and who…but in this Makula trade all people see in the contraband yards is the himps of logs reducing everyday.
You heartless fooools in govt, you are selling off your grandchildren assets to these slitty eyed soulless Chines who will not stop till everything is finished…. even Pangolins that used to wonder freely in the wild are threatened with extinction all over the world.
These dishonest thieves have been caught with their pants down selling the mukula tree and are trying to hoodwink the public about auctioning the tiny fraction. The leader has not been honest enough to instruct the many accounts and movement of monies into these accounts that are believed to be proceeds from he involvement in the illicit trade in mukula. She has been mentioned in the FIC report, but the King Rat will claim he has not seen it. She is part of the cabal that we should not only name and shame, but prosecute for plundering of national resources.
We have known for a very long time that Mukula is valuable. By now we should have been planting and investing in the tree rather than loot what is currently obtaining. I don’t have a PhD like others claim but at I have a vision. It takes 25 years for that tree to mature and we have taken away 2-3 years of that bickering and abetting illegal exports.
Trying fool some useful *****s here. PF youths cant be fooled anymore Mr J Kapata. The battle has just began.
Last night PF Youth impounded 9 trucks loaded with Mukula Tree being exported to China thru Zimbabwe in spite of the ban on Mukula Exports. Were these Mukula logs auctioned? Has the export ban of Mukula Tree to China been lifted?. Who is benefiting from the export of Mukula Tree? The same Koswe Mumpoto President and his Rats? Corruption is now a Cancer in Zambia driven by Lungu and his PF Koswes. This must be stopped!
That’s the reason why this dullard Kapata came out to issue statements to cover up!!
Why should Govt auction the illegal mukula logs when they are supposed to be burned like they burn illegal ivory and other items obtained illegally. MY question is who is going to buy the auctioned mukula logs? I bet it will be the same corrupt ministers and Govt officials through their friends and relatives.
Because they want ZAFFICO to sell very cheap on the books and pocket the true price!!
Gentlemen we ‘ve heard a lot about Jean kapatas trade in mukula it’s a well-known issue country wide the clean up must start from the top
Chichi it’s not Mr Jean kapata it’s madam kapata the minister incharge of exporting illegal mukula
Please auction off HH as well.