Mukula Scam Unearthed In Chipili

Minister of Community Development Doreen Mwamba has unearthed a scam involving a cartel at the Ministry working with some corrupt PF officials who have continued to harvest and export Mukula trees belonging to ZAPID farms without approval from government officials.

Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPID), a department under the Ministry of Community Development, are charged with the responsibility of managing several Mukula farms in Chipili district in Luapula Province.

Having heard rumours of the scam, Mrs Mwamba and her team went to Chipili to inspect the operations. They discovered 10 trucks laden with Mukula at ZAPID Farms while seven other trucks were found packed along the road near the farm.

The drivers found with the trucks explained that they have been waiting for forged documentation to allow the logs to be transported under the pretext they were headed to the to Congo, while the trucks at the ZAPID Farms were waiting for clearance from the Ministry of Lands.

“For the past two months, the drivers have been waiting for a go ahead from owners of Mukula trees who are connected to the system,” they revealed.

Mrs Mwamba expressed saddeness over the indiscriminate cutting down of Mukula trees at the farm.

“This is sad that only a few people from the PF Mukula cartel benefit while the farm remains undeveloped at the expense of the underprivileged. We were getting reports that they are illegal activities at the farm, so we came for a fact-finding mission but what we have found here has shocked us, over 200 truckloads of Mukula have been taken from the farm by the past regime without any written approval from cabinet,” explains Mrs Mwamba with shock. 

The Minister has since instructed track drivers both at the sight and on the roadside in Chipili District not to make any move until investigations from the relevant authorities are concluded.