CUTS International Zambia Country Coordinator Chenai Mukumba says this is the more reason why her organization feels that the government lifts the ban as it works out on measures of properly managing the Mukula tree.
Ms Mukumba says there is need for the government to see to it that the Mukula specie is properly managed and that the citizens benefit from this species.
And the Timber Producers Association of Zambia (TPAZ) has maintained that there is need for the government to remove all tedious procedures in timber licensing.
TPAZ Vice President Charles Masange says the association has been advocating for the promotion of timber exportation in a bid to strengthen the country’s foreign earnings.
Mr. Masange says it is clear that the dependence on copper for foreign exchange earnings is not working well for the nation thus the need to try other sources.
He says it is unacceptable for the nation to be poor when it is endowed with natural resources which if prudently utilized can help improve the lives of the people.
Just what type of government is this mwebantu please? Yes, a government that calls for prayers amid amafi? Awe this is stranger than fiction
So there’s a ban, meanwhile thousands of trees are being cut down, no law enforcement officer notices anything? Trucks are driving into the forest, no law enforcement officer notices anything? They spends hours if not days loading the trucks, and still no law enforcement officer notices anything???
By 2021 there will be no Mukula Trees in Zambia…we have monkeys overseeing the maize field!!
Dont just talk and tell people to stop cutting mukula tree investigate why this tree is so popular and what are the benefits it can bring to this nation .
Really you cant just stop people from mining gold , gold is a very lucrative metal and brings colossal sums of money when sold .
If mukula is so much a money spinner better we put tight security around this precious tree . Either you like or not malefactors will always be there , however it is the law and proper security that will keep thieves away.
That this illegal trade should go on unabated is a reflection of a failed and corrupt leadership. It is the supreme duty of a responsible government to protect the resources of a nation which are its endowment. The government takes charge to oversee protection of these resources on behalf of the citizens. When those in government are in the forefront in raping the resources they should be protecting, they will lost the mandate to lead. Unless its complicit, its a week leadership that will watch the vice hopelessly and do nothing about it.
THE PUNISHMENT IS NOT ENOUGH, FULL STOP. When the drivers abandon the trucks, do you follow up on them or it ends there? By now we ought to have known the outlets.
Please government, members of parliament can we ensure that this mukula business is properly managed. This timber infact should not be exported instead those who want the timber should set up the industry here in Zambia and create jobs for us. This is also a fact with maize. We should not be exporting maize, instead we should set up maize mills and export maize flour and the like. Ultimately we will create jobs for ourselves. Please government put your foot down.
This mukula tree issue has been going on for some time now. We should have by now known exactly who is dealing in this illigal act and also the government would have done something to protect the wealth of the Zambian citizen. Personally I don’t understand how trucks can be loading huge numbers of logs without anyone seeing them.. industries and factories can be put up instead of just taking logs out, this also applies to others raw materials that the country just exports. We clearly do not have objective policies to develop and protect Zambia and it’s people… What a shame, we have a government which does not look at the people but only what is beneficial to the picked of those willing to make their hands dirty and depriving the average Zambian who does not have the voice or capacity…
It’s time the Government acted like Government not a a political party during campaigns.
PLEASE EXPORT MUKULA AS STREET VENDORS HAVE ALSO REMAINED DEFIANT TO GOVERNMENT EFFORTS OF CLEANING THEIR TRADING AREAS