Overseas capacity building conferences failing to reduce illegal timber exports

Lands Permanent Secretary Inutu Suba is disappointed that most officers who go to international capacity building conferences fail to add value to the country when they return.

Ms. Suba says government is spending a lot of tax payers money on building capacity of officers which should translate into tangible benefits to the country.

She says at the moment the country is faced with serious challenges of combating the indiscriminate cutting down and illegal exportation of timber yet no one is standing up to help stop the practice except herself.

Ms. Suba says she sometimes feels like she is a lone voice in the defence of Zambia’s timber noting that all civil society organisations and officers who understand what she is doing are quiet.

She says some people may even misunderstand her as someone who is talking and screaming all the time about illegal timber exports yet the cause is for the good of the country.

Ms. Suba was speaking in Chisamba on Friday when she opened the ‘Second preparatory workshop for the 12th session of conference of parties to the convention on biological diversity -CBD-’ to be held in South Korea next month.

The workshop has drawn participants from various government agencies who will in the next two days formulate Zambia’s country position to guide the negotiators during the conference.

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