Large Scale Bribing Uncovered in Mukula Trade

The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has published a report highlighting high levels of corruption in Mukula production and trade in Zambia. The report has estimated that US$1.7 million has been paid in bribes to government officials in order to facilitate the export of Mukula logs.

The report demonstrated that recent Mukula production in Zambia could have amounted to about 110,000 cubic metres (m3) per annum, with revenue losses of about US$3.2 million.

In addition across time and along the chain, politics, vested interests and elite capture have left little space for environmental concerns regarding the sustainability of Mukula production or any other species, for that matter.

The report concluded that power hierarchies at all levels of the state and across borders try to benefit as much and as quickly as possible, ultimately hampering the establishment of sustainable businesses.

The report has recommended that the Zambian government must step up its efforts in protecting the Zambian forests and its people’s long-term livelihoods by implementing the innovative measures included in the Forests Act of 2015 regarding community, joint and private forest management.