ILLEGAL PROPERTIES IN LUSAKA NATIONAL PARK DEMOLISHED
…hope the culprits at Kafue town council will be arrested for this illegalities…
MAY RECALL THAT SOMETIME EARLY THIS YEAR, THE NATION WAS MADE AWARE
OF ILLICIT ACTIVITIES HAPPENING IN LUSAKA NATIONAL PARK THAT INVOLVED ILLEGAL
LAND ALLOCATION AND BUILDING OF PROPERTIES IN THE PROTECTED AREAS.
FROM SATURDAY 147H SEPTEMBER, 2024 INTO SUNDAY 15TH, THE MINISTRY OF
TOURISM, THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE (DNPW)
AND PURSUANT TO THE ZAMBIA WILDLIFE ACT NO 14 OF 2015 AND STATUTORY
INSTRUMENT NO 44 OF 2011, CONDUCTED AN OPERATION CODE NAMED ‘MUCHOSE’
WERE IT DEMOLISHED THE ILLEGAL INFRASTRUCTURE. THE OPERATION WENT
SMOOTHLY AND ABOUT 30 ILLEGALLY BUILT INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH MOSTLY
COMPRISED WALL FENCES AND INCOMPLETE HOUSES WERE DESTROYED.
THIS WAS DONE FIRSTLY WITH A HIRED TRACTOR LOADER BACKHOLE (TLB) AND THEN BY MERE HANDS OF OUR SPIRITED WILDLIFE POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE DETERMINED TO ENFORCE THE RULE OF LAW.
AS WE ARE ALL AWARE, OUR PRESIDENT MR HAKAINDE HICHILEMA HAS ON MANY
OCCASIONS PREACHED ABOUT THE NEED TO ABIDE BY THE RULE OF LAW AND THAT
ANY PERSON WHO BREAKS THE LAW, DESPITE THEIR SOCIAL STATUS ARE ON THEIR OWN AND WILL FACE THE LAW ON THEIR OWN.
SECTION 15(1) OF THE ZAMBIA
WILDLIFE ACT NO 14 OF 2015 STATES THAT FURTHER, SECTION 18(1) OF THE ZAMBIAWILDLIFE ACT NO 14 OF 2015 STATES THAT “‘A PERSON WHO, EXCEPT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS ACT, ENTERS INTO OR RESIdES IN, OR PURPORTS TO ENTER INTO OR RESIDE
IN, A NATIONAL PARK OR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP PARK COMMITS AN OFFENCE”
THE NATION MAY ALSO WISH KNOW THAT THE AREA THAT WAS ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED
WAS UNDER HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES AND THE OCCUPATION WAS ALSO
HINDERING ZESCO FROM LAYING ADDITIONAL OVERHEAD LINES THAT WERE MEANT TO SUPPLY POWER TO A HOSPITAL UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN CHALALA. AS DNPW, WE SHALL CONTINUE WITH THE EXERCISES TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE RUMBLE IS REMOVED AND THE AREA RESTORED FOR NATURE CONSERVATION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE LUSAKA NATIONAL PARK (WHICH IS FORMALLY FOREST NUMBER 26 AND 51) NOT ONLY HARBOuRS WILDlIFE BuT ALSO PROTECTS CRITICAL UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCE FOR THE CITY OF LUSAKA AND SURROUNDING
DISTRICTS.
TO EXPEDITE THE OPERATION, WE HAVE REQUESTED SUPPORT FROM THE
ZAMBIA NATIONAL SERVICE AND ZAMBIA ARMY TO HELP WITH ADDITIONAL TLB, EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT AND TIPPER TRUCKS TO REMOVE THE RUMBLE, SO THAT ZESCO CAN START THEIR WORK AND WE CAN ALSO START WITH THE RESTORATiON ON THE HABITAT.
FURTHER, DNPW HAS INSTITUTED INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ILLEGAL LAND
ALLOCATION IN THE LUSAKA NATIONAL PARK AND WE HOPE TO ENGAGE OTHER
SECURITY AGENCIES BECAUSE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS INDICATE THAT OTHER CRIMES MAY HAVE BEEN COMMITTED BEYOND WILDLife CRIMES.