Defence Minister Ambrose Lufuma has announced that the impasse at the Kasumbalesa border has now been resolved.
Mr Lufuma said the issues that saw Truckers refusing to transit into Congo DR until security is provided have now been settled.
He said the meeting to resolve the matter was held in a cordial environment with Congolese counterparts.
“Current situation was the line of trucks, bumper to bumper, stretching from Kasumbalesa down to Chililabomwe hence holding commerce and trade between the two countries and SADC. In a cordial and friendly atmosphere we resolved that security will be provided by our DRC colleagues and that Trucks must start crossing and trekking into Congo DRC first thing in the morning today starting at 6hrs to 20 hrs henceforth,” he said.
Mr Lufuma announce that an SOS line (called green line) will be given to all the truckers for contact in case of any emergencies.
“I must inform the Zambian people that as we speak today the trucks started crossing as early as 6hrs.”
The negotiations team comprised of three Ministers Jack Mwiimbu, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Elisha Matambo Provincial Minister for Copperbelt Province and Mr. Lufuma.
The Ministers later addressed Truckers and assured them of security.
“We would like to thank our Congolese counterparts for their cooperation and commitment to resolving the problem. The riotous behaviour and looting which ensued yesterday has been stopped and calm has been restored in the border town of Kasumbalesa.”
Upnd has clearly failed to ensure security in our country and protect us. We fear for our friends and family back home.
When one’s president told the nation that Zambia had signed bilateral trade protocols with DRC, I asked myself why all the previous presidents had been so dull that they didn’t seize the opportunity to tap into the huge potential of the DRC.
But then I realized that the gentleman was born in the 1960s so he doesn’t know why even during the colonial era our country had never had normal trade with the DRC. Besides he comes from very far the Congolese border.
In a nutshell, DRC is a jungle and you can only survive by using jungle law.
Ask those who have worked in Congolese mines.
@ Dejavu: BUt you are Congolese too.hehehehehehehehe. Me dont understand what you complaining about. Give your cousins back home in your country a chance too ey.
And you are Angolan. I tell my friends that there’s a lot of rubbish the Upnd owners say about us bembas in our absence… you have just proved me right.
Its time Zambians stopped thees tired accusations of “you are from country so and so) Zambia is landlocked by 8 countries so its only natural that all its inhabitants share ethnicity so you cant keep using this immigrant accusation. Zambia is a new nation. Allow it to build itself. For Deja Vu, Spaka and other tribalists as long as you are near a border in Zambia they are quick to label you as that country’s national. Those in Luapula and Copperbelt and Northwestern are said to be from Congo . Those in Eastern are from Malawi or Mozambique. Southerners re from Zimbabwe Westerners are from Angola. For god’s sake just shut up.
Southern people are not from zim. When you say Southern people, it includes central, Lusaka regions too. People in this region share a long history, hundreds of years of history. The borders crossed them, not them crossing the borders.
When I become president, I’m going to annex Binga region of Zim and parts of Namibia and Botswana. To the east take Malawi. Katanga region will be a tough one.
The other Congole above (Patritic Branch UK) is a refugee at Heathrow Airport London and wants to sound as if he is patriotic when infact na ka Visa mu passport yawo palibe.
Esther are you okay? You seem frustrated lacking self control. Let us not abuse these online facilities just because we can afford a little bit Internet bundles
Minister of defense?? Are we at war with the DRC?
Why didn’t our minister of home affairs or foreign affairs attend to the issue?
Crap reporting as usual…………
Who rioted ??? Zambians or Congolese….??
Who represented the Congolese ???
This quote seems fake: “Current situation was the line of trucks, bumper to bumper, stretching from Kasumbalesa down to Chililabomwe hence holding commerce and trade between the two countries and SADC. In a cordial and friendly atmosphere we resolved that security will be provided by our DRC colleagues and that Trucks must start crossing and trekking into Congo DRC first thing in the morning today starting at 6hrs to 20 hrs henceforth,” he said.
Didnt you invent it ba reporter?