The latest on West Mvuvye National Forest...

I met with Tom Younger yesterday in order to clarify issues around the West Mvuvye, the M'nyamadzi game ranch and the West Petauke GMA in the southern Luangwa valley. I was assured that the forest was in fact a local forest, that he had made the necessary application - with the agreement of Senior Chief Luembe and the Nyimba District Council, for a 14 year provisionary lease and that this had, after an interview, been personally granted to his Royal Luembe Trust by the State President of Zambia. It would seem clear therefore that at some time since the Luembe Conservancy Trust's application two years ago to the Department of Forestry for a Joint Forest Management Agreement in respect of the Mvuvye (requiring the agreement of Chief's Mwape and Luembe and the Council), this forest was de-gazetted from a national to a local forest - the latter having no protection from alienation other than by the interventon of the President. No one informed myself or our Trust of this. This begs the question as to why Mr Sangalube of the Forestry Department personally assured me and community representatives some two months ago that the alienation of this forest was not allowed as it was a National Forest, and that the portion of the forest alienated on 99 year lease to Mr Z. Patel would be terminated by the Attorney-General as it was illegal. Since that time, Sangalube and the Director of Forestry have refused us an interview.The present chief, Francis Kalunga, faces a court hearing in June concerning his fitness and legitimacy to remain in office. Should he be removed, the new chief and his advisors would have to satisfy themselves as to the legitimacy of the M'nyamadzi lease, and the process whereby the forest was de-gazetted without the community's knowledge.

These issues apart, the Luembe Conservancy Trust was established to provide the necessary guidance in respect of natural resource management for Luembe as a whole, and to attract appropriate investment once projects had been identified through the participatory rural appraisal process and the production of a landuse plan - presently in progress. Although I do not like the way they have gone about obtaining the land, Younger assures me of their good conservation intentions. Their Trust provides a 20% shareholding for the community and an as yet undisclosed shareholding for Senior Chief Luembe. We discussed the issue of the West Petauke Hunting Block concession across the river from the Mvuvye, an area long under a poaching assault, and currently being ravaged by elephant poaching gangs in which some ZAWA members are participants. This concession was obtained by a foreign investor and myself as the first investment made under the Luembe Trust umbrella.

Clearly, in order to bring development to the area under an holistic development plan - bearing in mind that hunting safaris alone do not provide the income necessary to protect the biodiversity or to enable local people to achieve the Millenium Developpment Goals, it will be necessary to form close working relationships with all stakeholders in the West Petauke ecosystem. This we are endeavouring to do with Younger as his investors wish to invest in all or part of the concession as well.

I.P.A. Manning

Zambia's Forestry Department in Nyimba does not know and won't listen

The Chairman of the Luembe Headman's Association reports that the Forestry Officer in Nyimba, the district officer in charge of West Mvuvye National Forest, appears to know nothing of the sale of the Forest to private investors on 99 year leasehold. This despite the fact he has received letters of complaint from the Chairman of the Luembe Community Resource Board to that effect. Is the Forestry Department the next Government Department to be temporarily closed down by the President so as to allow it to be investigated for corruption?

The only result so far appears to be the surveillance put in place by agents of the Office of the President (cars: ABH 3491 and ABH 3260) on the residence of I.P.A. Manning, Director of the Luembe Conservancy Trust, the Trust which has had a two year wait for approval of its Joint Forestry Management project with the Forestry Department, and which is working to expunge corruption from the area. The case of the Vice-President of the Patriotic Front, Dr Guy Scott and Manning versus Mr Chipoya, Principal Private Secretary to the President in the Office of the President, who, while the President was absent from Zambia, charged the two - and others, with planning to sabotage the ruling party and of planning the destruction of the maize stocks of Zambia, will shortly appear in court. Could this surveillance be part of the grand design?

Six accountants in Zambian Land Ministry suspended

April 13, 2007

Six accountants in Zambian Land Ministry have been suspended for alleged improper use of public funds and missing receipt books, Zambia Daily Mail reported Friday. Several others at the ministry have been written charge letters to exculpate themselves, failure to which they will also be suspended, according to the newspaper.
Permanent secretary of the ministry Bernard Namachila said here Thursday that he had decided to suspend the accountants and reprimand others in line with the government crusade to clean up the rot in the ministry.
He said he had asked the accountant in Kabwe who could not properly account for over 19 million kwacha (over 4,500 U.S. dollars) to exculpate himself, failure to which he too would be suspended. The suspension of the officers has resulted in a shortage of accounting staff and he has since requested the Finance Ministry of the country to provide support staff for the Land Ministry. Principal accountant Muketukwa Nalumino told the Parliamentary Public Accounting Committee (PAC) that when the accountant at the head quarters was asked about the missing receipt books, he said they were given to an officer who had since retired and could not be traced.
"But when we traced the retired officer, he denied having gotten the said books. This is when the accountant again told us that the books were given to a cashier who was very sick and not reporting for work. The cashier also refused. That is when the officer was suspended," Nalumino said. The PAC also heard that out of 24 cheques worth 343 million kwacha, four were forged. The matter has since been reported to the police who are currently investigating, she said. PAC chairperson Charles Milupi took Nalumino and other senior officers in the ministry to task for having sat on the information until it was raised. "The committee has difficulties in believing what you are telling us because it has taken about three years for you to bring up the matter. There seems to be a casual attitude by the ministry on following up cases of misuse of funds," Milupi said.

Last month Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa sacked deputy Land Minister for alleged corrupt involvement in the allocation of land only less than three weeks after the Land Minister was fired for the similar reason.
On Feb. 28, Mwanawasa with immediate effect terminated the appointment of Gladys Nyirongo as land minister after the revelation of corruption scandals surrounding several high officials in the ministry.
Xinhua...

Zambia's West Mvuvye National Forest No. 54 corruption

News - as yet unconfimed, that the southern portion of the West Mvuvye National Forest has now been alienated on a 99 year renewable lease to investors brought in by Messrs Younger and Baldry, joining the already alienated northern portion of this protected area, awarded on a similar lease to Mr Z. Patel, is deplorable news. However, a call from the Chairman of the Luembe Headman's Association saying that he has heard that the Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources has de-gazetted this National Forest, suggests that matters may have taken a turn for the worse at a Ministry whose Forestry Department refuses to see community members living around the Forest who object to the alienations, nor respond to Luembe Conservancy Trust trustees who had two years ago applied for a joint forest management agreement with the Forestry Department in respect of the Forest in question.

This corruption has been widely reported: to the Commission for Investigations, the Anti-Corruption Commission, to The Post newspaper...but nothing has been said or done about it.

Any land over 250 ha may not be alienated on 99 year leasehold to any individual or company without the express permission of the Minister of Lands.

The peoples' land is being stolen by corrupt chiefs, fast-buck merchants and civil servants who serve only their own family and clan interests. And we appear powerless to stop it.