Friday, March 29, 2024

UPND will deal with all Mukula thieves once in power-GBM

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GBM

UPND Vice President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba says the UPND government will decisively deal with all PF leaders involved in the exploitation of the Mukula tree and other natural resources for personal gain.

Dr Bwalya says the level of criminality in the PF has reached epidemic levels resulting into a total collapse of the economy which they can’t rescue owing to their appetite for self enrichment.

He said the country is yet to see the worst of President Edgar Lungu whom he said has failed to discipline his thieving cartel because of his involvement.

He said there is only a small clique of PF officials that was involved in shoddy deals such as the Mukula trade while several Zambians are going for days without proper food.

” Even those that intercepted those Mukula trucks are PF chaps who are benefiting from this trade.This is not about the country but personal riches.We shall deal with them.That I can assure you”,he said.

The UPND deputy strongman said it is unfortunate that President Lungu has completely failed to address the economic and social misery in the country describing 2017 as a miserable year he would love to quickly forget.

On Saturday evening,The Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary Mr Sturdy Mwale clarified that ZAFFICO was mandated by government to export the illegally harvested and confiscated Mukula logs on its behalf.

Mr. Mwale said this at a press briefing following an incident where a haulage of Mukula logs was intercepted by some citizens on suspecion that the the logs belonged to a senior government official.

“I wish to inform the nation that the Zambia Forestry and Forest Limited Corporation, ZAFFICO, has been given a mandate by the government of the Republic of Zambia to export the illegally harvested and confiscated mukula logs to China on its behalf. It is in this vain that on 29th December, 2017, ZAFICO was transporting 10 containarised trucks laden with mukula logs from Lusaka to Chirundu and a further 11 trucks from Mporokoso and Nsama to Chirundu. When they were intercepted in Shimabala area, initially by suspected UPND cadres and later by suspected PF cadres on allegation that the consignment belonged to a very senior government official and were being illegally transported without documentation,” said Mwale.

“In the process, ZAFFICO officials escorting the trucks were robbed of some official documents for the movement of the trucks from Lusaka to Chirundu and money amounting to approximately K30,000 a matter which defense and security wings are investigating.”

In August 2017, Muchinga Province Minister Mr. Malozo Sichone revealed that the Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) is likely to raise US$1 million from the sale of mukula logs that were seized from unscrupulous timber traders in the province.

Government then engaged ZAFFICO to collect and auction the Mukula tree that was illegally cut in Muchinga Province by timber traders.

Mr Sichone further stated in an interview that Muchinga has plenty of mukula logs that were illegally cut by the traders and that ZAFFICO is likely to generate US$1 billion from the logs that they will collect from the bushes.

“Muchinga has plenty of trees, which are of commercial importance. Here in Muchinga, we also have the mukula tree and right now, the Zambia Forest and Forestry Industries have been engaged to auction the logs that were cut illegally,” he said.

Following the mandate bestowed on them by government, ZAFFICO travelled to china and shortlisted some Chinese companies who participated in the auction.

The auctioned Mukula logs (which was initially harvested illegally by unscrupulous dealers) are now being escorted out of the country by members of the Joint Operations Commiittee (JOC) comprising secret service, Zambia Army, ZNS, Police, DEC, ZRA, and Forestry to ensure that, no fresh contraband is added along the way.

So when the intercepted truckers said we bought the logs off the auction, it is true but ZAFFICO remains the official exporter until the contra leaves our borders.

74 COMMENTS

  1. It could be true that the intercepted trucks were hauling logs for ZAFFICO in a legal manner, but it’s the trust that the government has lost from it’s own citizens.

    The relationship between the current Government and it’s citizens can be likened to a marriage that cannot be reconciled.

    If the Youths from the ruling Party have lost trust in their Leader’s where does it the rest of the citizenry?

    • GBM before you dream of forming government, are you sure you are going to be HH running mate in 2021 is that Tonga Tribal party? When is HH going to come clean with the Zambians for so many questions he still does not clarify. His involvement in privatization, only a Tonga can rule UPND, Freemansonery etc. Before you point at the neighbors dirt clean up the dirt in your back yard first. Start simple by going for a convention and subject all positions to election. Then you can talk about the speck in you neighbors eye.

    • Assuming the explanation given in this story is true about ZAFFICO and the export. Amos Chandra in his statement said the president is NOT aware of any lifting of the suspension of mukula exports. There are 2 aspects to this;
      1. Eigther the president is asleep and not aware of a lot of big issues happening around him.
      2. His helpers are dribbling him telling him lies about what is happening of not happening.
      3. He could be drinking too much whiskey that is making him forget what his people have told him.

    • Shut up GBM you are one of the most greedy and corrupt people in politics.
      To think you can be vice president one day scares me!

    • With these guys it will be the same thing all those FRA haulage contracts will go back to GBM Transport..all that money the millionaires have spent will have to be got back through abuse of power. I only hope NDC gets enough seats in Parliament unlike is the case now when PF can do as they please.

    • Why were Chinese nationals supervising the loading of the mukula logs into the trucks? Do they work for ZAFFICO? I doubt very much those logs belong to ZAFFICO.

  2. Our leaders are thieves. They are criminals. They belong to jail. I have never seen a country as Zambia full of thieves at the top. I am ashamed of being zambian really.

  3. Awe Ba GBM, not ifyo, leave it to PF.
    HH said Edgar and his friends should not be afraid, they will not be arrested.

  4. Ba Lusaka times in the same article you are saying logs worth $1 million and $1 billion, so are you informing or misinformation?

    • Ba Gabz, where did you learn to read? $1 million is from the logs that have been confiscated already and $1 billion is from the logs that have been cut but are yet to be collected from the bush.

  5. I am NOT looking forward to the new lies by our politicians in the new year.They’re all like bananas -i.e crooked ,changing colours and they all hang together .

  6. “Dr Bwalya says the level of criminality in the PF has reached epidemic levels resulting into a total collapse of the economy which they can’t rescue owing to their appetite for self enrichment.”
    Inflation-6.1%, gdp growth 4.4%, trade surplus, copper-$6,800. Corruption-why, oh why can’t someone point out and take evidence to court so the culprits are arrested rather than just sing corruption in the media???

    • My friend we have no credible courts to take any good evidence to. The PF judges (Sunday blonde, Mambilima etc) will just sit on that evidence and will never conclude the case. How many cases with implicating evidence are before the courts?

    • @Pompwe: Those are exactly the sentiments of the useless opposition we have who have employed the strategy of using slander to discredit a genuinely elected government. Hoping people will revolt and a revolution will ensue. The courts are only fair when they rule in your favour and corrupt when they rule against you. Look at Mmembe, how can one feel the courts are wrong when you stop paying tax???

    • Citizen….

      “..Inflation-6.1%, gdp growth 4.4%, trade surplus,..”

      Is that figures to be showing off about after spending and indebting the country in billions of $s ???

      RB managed far better than those tu ma pathetic figures without borrowing billions…….

    • If a country was experiencing a downturn, those are good figures. Inflation had topped 22%, gdp growth had hit rock bottom at less than 3%, exchange rate was volatile hitting k15 to $1 with analysts predicting it to hit K20. We had quarter after quarter of trade deficits. THE ECONOMY IS RECOVERING UNDER ECL!!

    • Badala, after spending $17 billion , those are pathetic figures ….

      And since you are trumpeting those figures can give us the accompanying drop in unemployment which followed those purported upturns ??

    • Well, let’s say $17bn was spent, on what, Lungu’s house??? Whatever money was spent by PF, we can all see the structures today. We see the new district hospitals, the new roads, the bridges, UTH upgrade, etc. Then unemployment, you are aware that there’s a huge informal sector employment?? Much larger than the formal sector, so employment is just not formal sector.

  7. Yes GBM you will come and deal with mukula thieves once your upnd form Govnt in Dundumwezi!!!do you think Zambians are so dull to vote for upnd to simply come and deal with mukula thieves?kekekekekeke…its like you guys in opposition have nothing to offer!!Govnt has told us that its ZAFFICO which is exporting mukula which was grabbed from mukula thieves.IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT?NOTHING!!indeed late Sata was a genius while in opposition unlike the current crop of dull opposition leaders!!NO NORMAL ZAMBIAN WOULD BE INSPARED TO VOTE FOR UPND MERELY TO COME AND DEAL WITH MUKULA THIEVES-NEVER!!!if you have nothing to say or offer bo upnd,just keep quiet!!THE HABIT OF MAKING POLITICAL STATEMENTS ON ANY ISSUE WHICH SEEM TO BE AGAINST PF TO GAIN POLITICAL MILEAGE SHOULD REMAIN…

  8. Have we failed to govern ourselves? God forbid.

    Does it have to take the President to order a clean up of the COD?

    SHAME ON US.

    • Shame on the so called President.
      He is the one who created that filthy in town because of PF populists policies of empowering people to make a living. PF policies have backfired.
      Don blame the mayor. PF cadres interfere the work of the council all the time.

  9. Have we failed to govern ourselves? God forbid.

    Does it gave to take the President to order a clean up of the CBD?

    SHAME ON US.

  10. Old political rhetoric that has no place in our current political dispensation. Do what you can now and not the when we come to power mantra. Ni mukula yakwa wiso?

  11. AFTER THE FAILED PETITION, UPND HAVE NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT. HENCE THE STORIES ABOUT CORRUPTION. SURELY IF CORRUPTION WAS THAT RAMPANT, WHY HAVE YOU FAILED TO HAVE THESE CASES PROSECUTED?

  12. The cobra fired you because of zesco poles.

    u5 will never rule Zambia

    when he see crowds in mongu he thinks the country loves him

    no no no

    upendi is the biggest tribal grouping on earth.

    95% mps come from one village

    no mp in lusaka. no mp muchinga.no mp in cb. no mp in luapula.

    30mp in southern privince and when they gather they speak one language.

    Even u5 press aid is tonga. even all laywers are tonga.

    even u5 bloggers are emotional tongas

    • GBM was never fired. In fact he holds the only superior record of the only cabinet minister in the PFools goverment to have resigned on free wheel over the chitimukulu. That good-for-nothing Cobra persuaded zGBM to rescind his decision but he refused.

  13. @Chisenga

    I agree.
    Why wait until then because the chances are that you may be in opposition for ever, when our mukula
    is no more.

  14. The bitterness in southern koswe hh and gbm the fat koswe of kasama town is too much, the journey is many years long and they cannot possibly reach their destination in that state.

    18 years from now in 2036 even the two koswes would have forgotten about mukula.

  15. Iwe koswe gbm you are just a perfume in the smelly tribal arsenal of one southern koswe hh. Naturally you are not one of us!

  16. @Chesenga

    Correction : you will be in Opposition for life., not may be.
    So report to police now when the exhibit is still there.

  17. GBM before you dream of forming government, are you sure you are going to be HH running mate in 2021 is that Tonga Tribal party? When is HH going to come clean with the Zambians for so many questions he still does not clarify. His involvement in privatization, only a Tonga can rule UPND, Freemansonery etc. Before you point at the neighbors dirt clean up the dirt in your back yard first. Start simple by going for a convention and subject all positions to election. Then you can talk about the speck in you neighbors eye. Happy new year!

  18. Oh yes the Zesco poles scandal! Koswe GBM seems to have a good knowledge of timber.
    GBM koswe, I will warn just this last time, we have no place for bemba monkeys in our party, genuine membership is strictly tribe the rest of you are numbers.

  19. Instead of addressing the tribal stigma southern koswe removes Ackson Sejani from his central committee. But barely a few weeks ago he was confirming his tribal commitment at Mukuni village. Koswe hh must think we are fools, which is why we always show him our cards on election day.

  20. Instead of addressing the tribal stigma southern koswe removes Ac.tion Sejim.an from his central committee. But barely a few weeks ago he was confirming his tribal commitment at Mukuni village. Koswe hh must think we are fools, which is why we always show him our cards on election day.

  21. See the problem with our leader’s instead of wishing us happy new year,they first say curses against one another, what a shame!!

  22. Talk about real issues affecting citizens. Do we have to watch and wait till you are in power? How long will it take? Find a solution now and let common people benefit, that is the meaning of opposition. Be proactive and not reactive. Even president Mulyokela can utter those word.

  23. What u are talking there is sense but there is no …….. in your speaking because u have to let the people including those guys vote for u, that is when u can bring that issue or else those guys can’t make a mistake of voting for u: be wise.

  24. The lack of transparency in the explanation surely leaves room for citizens to smell a rat. Here is the context: a) Government ban on the export of the Mukula is still in place – No word from the government prior to this incident that ZAFICO to export all “confiscated” timber to China. Strange that ZAFICO officials had to travel to China to source buyers. Why not simply open up the auctioning to all (including able Zambians to buy) with permissi0n to export after the transaction?
    b) Very strange reason for the escort provided to the exporters – escorted by “Zambia Army, ZNS, Police, DEC, ZRA, and Forestry to ensure that, no fresh contraband is added along the way”. Surely, any “contraband” added on the way could be intercepted by the ZRA at the exit border? Is the system so corupt…

  25. The real issue is was the ban lifted for Mukula Exports or not? The ban hasn’t been lifted therefore the impounded export is illegal. When and where was the Auction for confiscated Mukula held? Why is govt contradicting itself on this issue. PF Youth Cadres should be commended for effecting Citizens Arrest to stop the illegal exportation of Mukula Tree logs and for personal gain. This corruption must be stopped if Zambia is to develop.

  26. Why do we have to wait until you are in power, why can’t you deal with them now? isn’t this your job as opposition?

  27. Do not believe that explanation people….the koswe rats are lying , what shameless lies …..as someone asked why hold the auction in China ?? Why not in Zambia to show transparency ??

    Those logs have been sold already and the rats where fighting over money that is why the deal was leaked …..lungu was involved and was getting a percentage.

  28. Yaba ati Dr Bwalya na grade 12 certificate nayo yama 9 yeka yeka!

    By the way where will you be forming government, Ku Tanzania? Malabishi!

  29. According to what we read in this Media today so and so has stolen what, trucks of mukula tree belongs to whatever. We are just talking and crying everyday while our children cannot go to school cannot afford food due to poverty, our money are going in the same pockets before our faces and no one is coming up with any lasting solution to allow the law take its course, l mean Zambians what’s wrong with us?

  30. Gbv and HH shud be the last pipo to talk about corruption because there business smell corruption and greedness selfish chaps

  31. We shall also deal with Gender Based Violence! How can a wife batterer attend sessions at the UN meet female heads of states when all he can think of is how to beat them up! You had your chance all you did was to enhance your pocket with the army, fra, police as a ‘supplier’ or ‘transporter’, even zesco was not spared, ratsa and all bodies shivered in your presences as you filled your stomach, forced your child to be sent into foreign service etc…you think the people have forgotten? Think again mune!

    • Fortunately for him UPND have forgotten just like they have forgotten what an anti-Tong rabble rouser he was when he was defence minister but such is their desperation for power that they are now singing Kambwili’s praises!

  32. Why is the opposition basing their campaign only how they will deal with Edgar Lungu. Mwanawasa spent billions to prosecute FTJ and in return the country gained nothing except making guys like Mutembo Nchito abnormally rich. Tell us how you will solve the problems facing the ordinary Zambians. Simply promising to fix the economy is not enough since this has been the song by every opposition party since independence.

  33. GBM and Kambwili hold Doctorare degrees in what and from where? My God have mess on us! I hold two Masters degrees in one of the most difficult fields and my better half is a PhD holder and am very sure these two imposters can reason like we do later on produce thesis that lead to one obtaining these qualifications.
    The question I have is if these guys can plagiarize academic qualifications just to make appearances, what could possibly happen if they controlled the Nations treasury?
    Let’s face it, the current opposition in Zambia do not inspire anyone and don’t even represent the people they allegedly cheat but are desperate to come and tear this country to pieces due to their nature and past records.
    HI destroyed our once viable mines, Kambwili and GBM were a corrupt chaps in…

  34. Bwana GBM thinks and talks like a parrot. We wonder if these politicians fully comprehend the diversity of valuable tree species that yield commercial timber. While some Zambians are focusing on Mukula, which is a relative of Mukwa, do they know the existence of Mkusi, Muzauli, Mubundikwa, Mbawa/Mululu that may be harvested steathly. Ba GBM must grow up to real political wisdom

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