MIKE MPHOSHA REVEALS POSSIBILITY OF RE-GAZETTING FOREST RESERVE-27 ..... AS HE ASSURES THAT THE ISSUE HAS NOT DIED OFF

 

Water Development and Sanitation Minister Mike Mposha has hinted at the possibility of the government re-gazetting the controversial Lusaka East Local Forest Reserve Number-27.

Speaking when he featured on the Tuesday edition of the 5Fm’s burning issue program today Mr Mphosa explained that the issue of the forest reserve in question had not died off as line ministries had been meeting and a road map had since been set to deal with the issue.

He said the inter-ministerial team comprising the ministry of green economy, ministry of land and local government is working around the clock with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency-ZEMA, the Water Resources Management Authority-WARMA and other cooperating partners such as World Wide Fund for Nature -WWF Zambia to give recommendations to President Hakainde Hichilema on the way forward, once they finalize the fact-finding mission.

" Forest 27 initially was a very big portion bordering State lodge facility coming to a settlement where you have Hon.Gay Scott and Kavindele and coming all the way up to where Zambia Air force-ZAF Twin palm facility are. All that was a big portion of Forest 27 and most of which has been a catchment area for a recharge zone for Chalimbana River which eventually flows into the Chongwe River. Now over time, there have been various Statutory Instruments to degazette the forest. At one point under President Chiluba's reign,a bigger portion had been degazetted and then the President realized that it was a mistake and that in future it could create problems and he had to re-gazette it into a forest. Over time people came and degazetted it and continued chopping off. So what that meant was that when they issued an SI to degazette then they got part of the land and kept on squeezing forest 27 up to the latest SI 13 if am not mistaken which was signed around 2019 under the past government [PF]. They reduced the forest-27 to 716 hectares. Now what this means is that people are going in to settle there, they are cutting trees to create passages and roads and they are cutting down trees indiscriminately to build houses and other facilities, which is damaging the Chalimbana recharge zone which was from colonial years spared as recharge zone for Lusaka...what it means by a recharge Zone is that when you have rains, instead of the water just running off into the rivers and eventually into the oceans, the water is trapped by the trees in the forest and is forced to go in the ground where it is stored underground and during the dry season, this is the water which is released into the rivers like Chalimbana and eventually the all Lusaka benefit. This recharge zone during the dry season releases water to go into various streams underground which eventually provide the water we abstract through the boreholes. Now the damage to this forest will mean water will just be running off into the rivers, into the streams and off it goes,it will not recharge the underground streams, so when you go to drill a borehole, you hit a dry borehole, these are the effects of you begin to see. Other than the fact that the trees you are cutting are also affecting the ozone layer and eventually the ecosystem then the rainy pattern .In addition, the people who are settling in these forests are going to drill boreholes everywhere, so they are puncturing into the recharge zone, so instead of the recharge zone keeping the water and only releasing it when it is needed by underground streams, its being abstracted. This in the next few years, is going to have very devastating effects because of the selfish motivates by human beings but go further when you look at it from the sanitation point, you are going to have people settling in that forest, putting septic tanks and soak ways which eventually will be discharging the waste which will be discharging faecal matters in the recharge zone. So what the recharge zone will be releasing into the stream will be contaminated water. So in the next few years, you expect the whole Chalimbana going into Chongwe to be extremely contaminated because of the sanitation facilities that are being put in the forest by those who have settled there which is a very sad situation..The forest area which had remained was 716 hectares but on the ground this 716 has also been encroached on because people have continued to be developing because of the lawlessness that existed in the past and am sad to tell you that what is remaining, which we are still investigating is around 200 hectares from 716, meaning this recharge zone has been depleted. My appeal to innocent citizens who may wish to procure land at the forest reserve is that they must desist from doing so because there is a risk they will be taking. After all, the forest reserve issue is very much alive and we need to find a way to restore part of the land.The good thing is that this forest if we minimise human activities on it ,it can regenerate and repair itself over the years and thats what we are looking at. So the inter-ministerial team is working with all the experts we have ZEMA in their WARMA , various environmental specialists and cooperating partners like WWF Zambia ...we are working round the clock to ensure that once we finish our fact-finding mission we will be able to give recommendations to his excellency the President on the way forward. There is a big possibility of re-gazetting it[the forest] but let me not speak to the issues we have to present to the President, I think let's wait until the President makes a decision," he said.

He said there was a need for concerted efforts to ensure that water resources are protected because the selfishness of a few individuals could cost the country huge challenges.

And Lands and Natural Resources Minister Elijah  Muchima  said the Forest Reserve number 27  should be re-gazetted to protect the water recharge and allow investigations on how some settlers acquired land.

Mr. Muchima says he will recommend to President  Hichilema to re-gazette the forest reserve.

ZNBC said the Minister spoke when he toured Forest 27 on a fact finding mission in the company of Local Government and Rural Development Minister Garry Nkombo and Water Development and Sanitation Minister Mike Mposha.

Local Environmentalists, William Harrington and Robert Chimambo have vowed that they will not relent in their efforts to convince President Hichilema to exercise his Constitutional powers to gazette a major portion of Forest Reserve in order to protect the lives of present and future generations.

Thye recalled that former President Fredrick Chiluba wasted no time to expeditiously sign Statutory Instrument No.161 of 1994 re-gazetting the forest reserve in the public interest after a petition was presented to him by over 3000 local community members "demanding" that the area be re-gazetted. 

"As far back as 1994, a petition was presented to late President Frederick Chiluba (MHSRP) signed by over 3000 local community members "demanding" that the area be re-gazetted and revert it to its original pre-independence status as a critical water source. As a keen environmentalist himself, President Chiluba wasted no time to expeditiously sign Statutory Instrument No.161 of 1994 re-gazetting the forest reserve in the public interest. By his noble action, all titles held in the area were effectively revoked and the few title 7holders were given alternative land. Sadly, former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu ignored the petition and went ahead to reverse the good works of President Chiluba by degazetting the forest reserve. He allowed the construction of a massive high-cost residential housing complex purely for political expediency without considering the welfare of present and future generations who depend on FR No.27 for livelihood.So as we have consistently and persistently stated, there is a need for our Republican  President to exercise those powers vested in him in the Constitution of Zambia to reverse the "environmental injustice" occasioned by his predecessor on the local communities. We appreciate that no Minister of government, not even the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources nor the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has constitutional powers to gazette, de-gazette or re-gazette any forest in Zambia. The role of line Ministers in land administration is merely advisory," they said

The duo appealed to President Hichilema to emulate the landmark precedent set by former President Chiluba by re-gazetting the forest reserve in question without any further delay.

"Forest Number 27 is a sensitive forest reserve located on the fringes of Lusaka in the Leopards Hills area. For instance, the area is located where water bodies such as Goma Lakes which is found within the University of Zambia (UNZA) has its water source," Times of Zambia reported.                                 ( https://www.times.co.zm/?p=115231 )

"When the now ruling party, United Party for National Development (UPND), was in opposition and campaigning for the August 12 general election last year, one issue which they promised to reverse was the gazette on Forest Number 27."