The Zambia Tourist Board (ZTB) has welcomed the dispatching of police officers to Livingstone following increased crime in the tourist capital.

ZTB board chairperson Errol Hickey said increased crime in the tourist capital is threatening the tourism industry hence the need to purge out criminal elements in the area.

Mr. Hickey told ZANIS in Lusaka today that the move by the Inspector general of police Ephraim Mateyo to dispatch a platoon of police officers is commendable as it will restore the peace that the city has enjoyed in the past.

Meanwhile, the ZTB chairperson has urged councils in the country to ensure that guest houses and other hospitality houses are licensed adding that a lot of them are currently operating illegally and promoting prostitution.

Mr. Hickey said his board is not capable of policing hospitality houses regularly as it is the mandate of councils to ensure that hospitality houses have appropriate operating licenses adding that those failing to comply should be closed down.

He explained that ZTB has now a new mandate to market and promote tourism in the country both at home and abroad.

Mr. Hickey added that some of its mandates such as licensing of players in the hospitality industry will now be done by the ministry of tourism.

His comments follow an appeal from the immigration department after a combined team of Zambia Police Service and Immigration Department raided Livingstone guest houses and other hospitality houses and sent back 60 suspected Zimbabwean sex workers to their country of origin.

And Mr. Hickey has announced that ZTB will in partnership with Tourism Council of Zambia (TCZ) be attending an Indaba in Durban South Africa from 8th to 11 May this year for car hire operators, lodges and other tourism industry players.

He said the indaba will be the largest tour exhibition in Africa and will attract tourism stakeholders from across the continent.

Mr. Hickey also disclosed that Zambia is among four countries that have been nominated in Africa for the best operating tourism board category at the forthcoming tour exhibition in Durban.

He said ZTB is proud of the nomination because it is a milestone and indicator of the board’s operations and achievements since it tenure of office.

Other countries in the same category are Malawi, Namibia and South Africa.

And a combined team of Zambia Police Service, Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and Immigration Department yesterday conducted a crack down operation and apprehended several suspects for various offenses in Chililabombwe’s PP Zambia compound.

Immigration Department Public Relations Officer Mulako Mbangweta told ZANIS in Lusaka today that the suspects were arrested for offences ranging from drug abuse, illegal possession of fire arms and illegal migration into the country.

Ms. Mbangweta said among those arrested in the same compound are 27 Congolese, two Tanzanians and a Mozambican.

She added that 46 Zambians were later released after they produced legal documentation to prove they were Zambians.

Ms. Mbangweta said 38 others are still in custody as suspected prohibited immigrants as they have not produced legal documentation to explain their presence in the country.

The immigration department spokesperson has since cautioned Zambians and foreign nationals to move with legal documentation to in order to avoid unnecessary detention once they are questioned of their nationality.

She has however commended Zambians for being vigilant and patriotic in reporting suspected illegal immigrants and activities.

Meanwhile, Ms. Mbangweta has also urged councils in the country to regularly patronize guest houses in order to ensure that they are not harboring illegal immigrants and other illicit activities such as prostitution.

She said city and district councils have an important role to play in ensuring that sanity prevails in districts and cities across the country by ensuring that institutions under their patronage operate within the confines of the law.

Government has reserved 4,000 hectares in Mufulira local forests for afforestation, which would be undertaken by a foreign consortium of agric foresters.

Mufulira District Commissioner (DC), Dyford Muulwa disclosed that the foreign consortium of agric foresters was ready to invest about US$1 million in the afforestation project in the forests.

Mr. Muulwa said another 1,200 hectares of the same forests has been de-gazetted to squatters living in the forest to undertake agricultural activities.

Meanwhile, squatters in Mufulira local forest have hailed Mr. Muulwa for spearheading government developmental programmes in the district.

The squatters, who were represented by Dominic Kayamalo, told the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in the border town that the people living in peri urban areas were happy with government’s efforts of promoting development in rural areas.

Mr. Kayamalo said Mr. Muulwa’s office had been instrumental in ensuring that part of the de-gazetted forest was demarcated and allocated to the squatters.

He said this move has rejuvenated the local people’s desire to work hard and be self reliant.

He also said squatters were pleased with government’s intention to allow a foreign consortium of agric-forest farmers to invest in the local forest.

Mr. Kayamalo, who is also the district land alliance coordinator, noted that the support shown by Mr. Muulwa’s office was a clear testimony that government was willing to alleviate poverty among the people through promoting agricultural activities.

COMMISSIONER of Police, Francis Kabonde, has reiterated that the number of regular police officers is not enough to contain the crime rate in the country.

Mr Kabonde said this in Kabwe today during the official opening of the Police Reserves’ workshop that is being held at Masiye Motels.

Mr Kabonde observed that as the population expands, it is becoming more difficult for regular police to fight the crime alone.

He said that the Zambia Police attaches great importance to the Reserve Police because of the complimentary work that they render to the service.

The Police Commissioner said that it was a policy of the Zambia Police to train and retrain regular and reserve officers in order to make them more efficient in their work.

Mr Kabonde urged able-bodied men and women to come forward and join the Police Reserve wing so that the Police can cope up with the growing population of the country.

He challenged the reserves to exercise high levels of discipline and good behaviour because whatever they did would reflect on the Zambia Police service.

On promotions, he said that the Zambia Police would only promote officers that were able to deliver and also able to enforce discipline in the reserve wing.

The Police Commissioner said that although he was not promising, something would be done on the reserve officers’ allowances because they had not been updated.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Ephraim Mateyo has dispatched a platoon of paramilitary officers to Livingstone in a bid to fight crime in the tourist capital.

Mr. Mateyo has since directed Southern Province Police Commanding Officer Lemmy Kajoba to personally supervise the operations in the area to ensure that sanity returns to Livingstone.

Mr. Mateyo told ZANIS that the paramilitary officers will report to the provincial commanding officer so that an operational order is prepared in order to create police presence in all residential and crime spot areas.

He said the core function and obligation of the Police Service is to safeguard people’s lives and their property through enhanced contemporary policing which embraces the community as partners in crime prevention and monitoring.

Mr. Mateyo said crime negatively impacts on both the economic and social life of the community and has since pledged to ensure that the Police Service improves the livelihood of the people in the country through a well-coordinated service delivery system.

The Immigration Department has sent back 60 suspected Zimbabwean sex workers to their country of origin following a raid on some guest houses in Livingstone.

Immigration public relations officer Mulako Mbagweta told ZANIS in Lusaka today that the her department in conjunction with the Zambia police service apprehended 86 people among them Zambians for allegedly engaging in prostitution in the tourist capital.

Ms. Mbagweta said the operation was aimed at getting rid off alleged sex workers from the tourist capital who are reported to have invaded guest houses and other hospitality houses in the city.

She said the 20 Zambians who were also arrested along with the Zimbabweans have since been charged for public nuisance while the rest were released after being screened.

Ms. Mbagweta has since expressed concern at the increased influx of alleged Zimbabwean sex workers in the tourist capital.

She has further cautioned Zambian men to desist from engaging in illicit sex in order to curb HIV/AIDS in the city.

The Public Relations officer who described the trend as saddening observed that the situation would endanger the lives of many Zambians if left unchecked.

Ms. Mbangweta has also called upon other stakeholders such as the Zambia Tourist Board (ZTB) to help curb prostitution through intensified inspections of guest houses regularly so as to ensure that they adhere to the stipulated guidelines.

She also urged ZTB to closely monitor activities in the mushrooming guest houses and close down those that have been turned into brothels.

And the Immigration Department in Kabwe has arrested 20 Congolese nationals believed to have been trafficked into the country via Kasumba Lesa border post.

The immigration Department public relations officer revealed that 3 suspected ring leaders from the group have since been put in custody pending investigations.

Ms. Mbagweta said her department was concern with the growing trend and increase of human traffic cases in the country.

She said it was not the first time that the department was arresting foreign nationals for human trafficking offences.

She attributed light punishment metted on the perpetrators, which does not act as a deterrent measure to would be offenders as one of the causes for the vice.

Ms. Mbagweta has however thanked Zambians for being alert and reporting suspected illegal immigrants to the department and has since urged them not to relent in their efforts to report any suspected illegal immigrant into the country.