Chief Smuggles Timber to Malawi

GOVERNMENT has unearthed a scam in which a traditional leader in Vubwi, Eastern Province, allegedly smuggled over 1,000 logs of illegally cut timber into Malawi.

Minister of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Mwansa Kapeya said in an interview yesterday that a named chief engaged youths in his chiefdom to illegally cut timber which he allegedly sold to a Malawian.
“It’s true that a chief in Vubwi district whom I shall not name has for a long time been illegally selling logs of timber in Malawi’s Mchinji district,” he said.
Mr Kapeya said police in Eastern Province have opened a docket against the traditional leader and warned that Government will ensure that individuals involved in illegal timber trade are prosecuted.
And Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) reports that Eastern Province forestry officer, Agnes Chinyama said in an interview that mukula tree logs were smuggled into Malawi through Sindamisale border.
Mrs Chinyama said a joint team of law enforcement officers, with the help of authorities in Mchinji district, managed to confiscate the timber.
She said no arrests were made and the timber was returned to Chipata but that investigations into the matter have been instituted.
Mrs Chinyama said Government is concerned with the increase in illegal timber trade in Eastern Province and that it is working with Malawian authorities to crack down on illegal hardwood trade.
She said the Malawian government agreed to return the timber after investigating the matter.
Eastern Province has in the recent past recorded an increase in illegal timber trade.
Meanwhile, a task force to curb illegal harvesting of timber in Luangwa has been constituted, Luangwa district commissioner Eunie Mumba has said.
The task force comprises security personnel and forestry department officers.
Mr Mumba said in an interview from Luangwa yesterday that the taskforce has intensified patrols to combat illegal logging.
“I am very comfortable to mention to you that in the district, we have started conducting some patrols with the security wings.
“The task force has engaged traditional leaders so that they can sensititse their subjects on the dangers of illegal timber trade,” he said.
Mr Mumba also said the local authority has been urged to be alert and scrutinise individuals applying for licences for harvesting timber.
“We have already put in place measures to deter people from engaging in illegal timber trade.
“So, even if some people are being given licences, members of the committee which I have appointed will be conducting routine patrols and snap checks to see if people are doing the right thing,” he said.

Posted by Editor on April 25, 2014. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry