Deforestation and forest degradation in Zambia has become so rampant and simplistic that often, the need for and welfare of the professional forester is over looked. The proliferation of illegal timber trading is also another manifestation of how the forestry profession has been undermined. Issues of deforestation and unsustainable timber harvesting and trade, can only be addressed with adequate resources and the Forestry Department in its current form lacks both the financial and human resources. Instead of recruiting adequate number of staff to meet the mandate of the Forestry Department, authorities tend to look towards law enforcement and defence forces to solve man made impasse involving forest products and its trade in the forestry sector. This has led to dwindling capacity of the Forestry Department to undertake duties under its mandate owing to low staffing levels. However, and interestingly so, when there is a scourge like HIV/AIDS or Covid 19 as the case is at the moment, the ultimate response is to employ more health workers including support staff. When the crime rate is high, the ultimate response is to increase police manpower in an area or even employ more officers. HOWEVER, when it comes to encroachments in forest reserves, increased illegal logging, increased smuggling, and export of timber/tax evasion, the authorities will not employ trained foresters. They would instead send soldiers/military personnel with AK 47’s to take over the foresters roles! Be it in the forest proximity or check points. Unemployment is therefore rife among graduates. It is therefore not surprising that the Anti-Corruption Commission is said to have recently arrested a senior army personnel and an officer from the office of the president in relation to forestry crimes!!
Meanwhile, the demand of timber for construction as well as wood fuels now outstrips sustainable supply and the charcoal trade is becoming more and more organised to satisfy urban demand. The impacts of this forest habitat loss are devastating and will continue to become more recurrent because of global climate change. The quality of forestry professional employed and forestry practice adapted is therefore an important factor in the management of forest resources and for facilitation of timber trade free of encumbrances.
However, in all IDEAL recruitment and appointment procedures, a fair, transparent, and unbiased selection procedure must be followed. The selection and conditions of employment should be made without discrimination on grounds of nationality, race, sex, age, relationships or creed. Nevertheless, It is not a secret anymore that employment for forestry professionals is and has been very erratic and more often than not, hard to find. Coupled with the aforementioned, is the fact of allegations and at times evidence of corrupt manoeuvres. These recruitment process schemes somehow go through unnoticed by our Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The institution has in this line of thought been a great let down to many job seekers. We have witnessed some relatively peculiar patterns when it comes to recruitment particularly in the forest department over the years:-
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There has been an assertion that a database of applicants is kept at the Forestry Department in the line Ministry. However, what has been noticed is that those that have genuinely been applying for over 5, 6 to 10 years are never invited for interviews or aptitude tests. On the other hand, the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) also receives applications and we are told there is a database for all applicants as well.
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The Forests Act No 4 of 2015 stipulates that the Public Service Commission (Now Civil Service Commission) shall appoint public officers.
The above scenario has basically created three avenues for which a job seeker can apply for job in the civil service as a forestry officer namely: – the Forestry Department , The Public Service Management Division and ultimately the Civil Service Commission as per its mandate and prescription in the Forests Act. We thus have had graduates dropping applications at the said institutions but shockingly without advertisement or calling for interviews, we have noticed some blessed and lucky Zambians being recruited, much to the bewilderment of those that may be in the know of those recruited, or those that are in far flung outskirts of the country. This has created a gap for suspicion and transparency in the recruitment process has often been brought into question.
While the Government has shown good will thus far and the number of prospective civil servants to be employed in the Civil Service under the Education and Health sectors is publicly known as 30,000 and 11,200 respectively, the public and unemployed professionals are not aware of the number of vacancies to be filled in the Natural resources/wild life/ green economy sectors. We thus call upon the authorities to make it known to the public on the prospective vacancies under the public service where the services of a foresters and allied professionals are required.
Recruitment processes are not devoid of corrupt elements. However, let us be take note and be reminded that by definition, Corruption is an inappropriate abuse of authority among government officials or members of private organisations in exchange for benefits for themselves or others. Bribery/connections are perhaps the most well recognised form of corrupt behaviour but abuse of power can take many forms including fraud, forgery, turning a blind eye to crimes, extortion, and coercion, making decisions that favour friends or relatives, nepotism, trading in influence, embezzlement and laundering of the proceeds of crime. Overall, Corruption inhibits the ability of honest public officials to fulfil their mandates, whether those be managing and protecting forest resources, protecting borders, or managing and regulating markets for forest products. The recruitment process for foresters is thus the first line of defence against possible compromised officers being found in the civil service. A sound and confident professional who gets a forestry job on merit is therefore more able or likely to resist illegal instructions as compared to those that use connections or undue advantage. It can thus be said that those who do not get forestry jobs genuinely can easily find it acceptable to circumvent laws to benefit themselves or their families or communities. This is predominantly true when the probable profit of engaging in corruption overshadows the risks, i.e., the State’s ability to monitor and punish any corrupt actor for their corrupt behaviour.
In conclusion, the establishment for forestry officers needs to be filled in order to address the challenge of unemployment that had befallen graduates in the past. Nonetheless, the forestry value chain does not need compromised officers owing to a weak recruitment process that is not transparent and accountable. Job placements must be in the open for everyone to see/apply and an appeal structure should be provided for those that feel aggrieved with the process. It is accordingly, important for authorities make it clear on the procedure to follow when applying for employment in the Civil service for the professionals under consideration in relation to the Forests Act No 4 of 2015 (Part II, Section 4) in light of the change from Public Service Commission to the Civil Service Commission as per Act No 10 of 2016. It is only through our accountable actions and transparent steps that we can foster development in our respective fields of study for sustained social, economic, and environmental benefits to accrue to the current and future generations. RECRUITMENT IN THE FORESTRY SECTOR MUST BE TRANSPARENT AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!! We also hope that through the decentralisation model being rolled out, a mechanism for applications regarding forestry positions can be facilitated at the provincial/district levels.
Chaliafya Katungula
Advocate General
FORESTRY ADVOCACY FOR COMMUNICATION, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESEARCH
By Sydney Mwamba Acting PMRC Executive Director
