By Ernest Chanda
THE Lower Lupande Hunting Block community has cried out to President Hakainde Hichilema to hear them regarding the cancelled safari hunting concession agreements.
Ministry of Tourism permanent secretary Evans Muhanga has cancelled concession agreements signed in 2020 for 19 hunting blocks across the country, against legal advice from the Attorney General.
Representing the Kakumbi Community Resource Board in the Eastern Province’s Lupande Game Management Area, Petros Muyunda said people were heavily affected because they had lost out on income.
“For us we are heavily affected because we get money from hunting activities. We depend much on hunting income. So, we lost jobs. We lost money because us we do not keep cattle in the valley here. We depend on meet that they give us from the hunting process,” he told The Mast. “There are a lot of things that have been heavily affected because we have serious loss of employment in this industry. Again, revenue for the CRBs (Community Resource Boards), for the community scouts to pay the people that work for the development projects for the communities… And operation of the CRB is now greatly affected.”
He urged the government to listen, adding that it was the reason people voted for them.
“The government should learn to listen to the people. We laboured a lot to bring in the new dawn government. We had the hope that they would listen to our problems because we used to face the same challenges with the PF. When we were singing about this, them they used to give us money, and at some point, they were listening,” Muyunda said. “Them, (UPND), they don’t want to dialogue with us. They don’t want to talk to us. Already we are having a meeting in Eastern Province and we have invited the [permanent secretary] PS to come, he has turned down the invitation. All the chiefs are around. We have about eight to 10 chiefs. We’re at Crystal Springs Hotel. But the PS is not there. He can’t even assign because when the PS is not there it means the PS is not alone. There is the director, there’s the deputy. There are so many people working around there. So, there’s somebody who can represent the PS to hear the problems of the people.”
Muyunda said since subordinates were not listening to communities, they had to appeal to President Hichilema.
He said people in the community were in problems because there was no more income for them.
“Us we are just appealing to the President that we people in the communities we have very big hope in them and we want them to listen to us. It is us who are sick. And it is us who can tell the doctor that we are sick. And the doctor can now prescribe the medicine that they can give to a sick person,” he said. “But if the sick person is saying the things that are paining… and then the doctor is not able to listen, how are they going to give the medicine to that person? It’s difficult. So, the new dawn government, we have a very big hope in them but let them listen to us. We are saying; like for hunting, we are not saying that everything was 100 per cent… We also agree that there was a problem, but there must be a better way of doing it. They would have even given [successful bidders] sometime to operate while they start doing their investigations and so on, rather than closing us out completely – making it a very big problem to the CRBs that are completely dependent on hunting.”
Muyunda said community members do not know where to get salaries from.
“That’s a problem now. We don’t know where to get the next salary, because we used to get a lot of money from the outfitters like community obligations…We can’t get that money now because there’s no agreement with them, and on which basis are they going to give us money?” he asked. “And when we go to the government to say ‘give us the money now so that we can pay some workers and so on’, they won’t. We are happy that they have given us the hunting funds for last year. But what about this coming season? So, our appeal to His Excellency the President is that they have to listen to us. They promised us that they’ll listen to us, that’s why as people in the community we went massively to vote for them. Especially where I’m coming from in my chiefdom, we gave the UPND 100 per cent votes. The CRBs voted out the PF because of the same arrogance. And now for them it is worse. But they should learn from their colleagues.”
Last month, Muhanga cancelled safari hunting concession agreements signed in 2020, against the advice of Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha, as the hunting season opened on May 1, 2022.
Instead, he ordered a readvertisement of the same in his memorandum to director of national parks and wildlife in the Ministry of Tourism Chuma Simukonda dated April 22, 2022.
On May 13, 2022, Muhanga terminated the contract for Dr Simukonda who is believed to have advised him against ignoring legal advice from the Attorney General.
According to the Attorney General’s advice in a letter dated January 5, 2022 addressed to President Hakainde Hichilema on tender No. MTA/SP/001/2020, there was nothing illegal about the tender and that cancelling it would attract law suits against the government.
“Your Excellency, I find it pertinent to make an appointment with you and explain the legal implications relating to the subject matter. Your Excellency, prior to meeting you [I] wish to bring it to your attention through this letter that I received a letter from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts reference No. MTA/54/14/2 dated 15th December, 2021 in which the Ministry was seeking a legal opinion on the cancellation of Hunting Concession Agreements (hereinafter referred to as ‘HCAs’,” Kabesha wrote. “The circumstances that engendered the opinion is attributed to your directive to the Minister and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism to the effect that the execution of the HCAs must be halted and that the negotiated HCAs must be cancelled.”
He cited formalities which prescribe a genuine hunting concession agreement and advised that once they are met then the tender remains legal.
Citing case law, Kabesha advised against cancelling the agreements as that would attract legal suits on government and subsequent loss of income through compensations to the affected parties.
“Your Excellency, once all these formalities are met, the contract or contracts come into being. According to the Procuring Entity all these procedures were met which resulted in the HCAs being approved,” explained Kabesha. “In the case of National Drug Company Limited and Zambia Privatisation Agency v Mary Katongo, the Supreme Court held that: ‘It is trite law that once the parties have voluntarily and freely entered into a legal contract, they become bound to abide by the terms of the contract and that the role of the court is to give efficacy to the contract when one party has breached it by respecting, upholding and enforcing the contract.’ In view of the cited case and in the absence of cogent evidence of infringement of section 69 (1), it becomes legally unsustainable to terminate the HCAs. Any attempt to effect will undoubtedly lead to law suits against Government which is striving to resuscitate the economy of the country and at the same time creating an enabling environment for investment and respect of the law. I humbly render my advice.”
Several stakeholders, including good governance activist Brebner Changala, Socialist Party president Fred M’membe, acting PF president Given Lubinda, and State Counsel Sakwiba Sikota, have advised Muhanga against the cancellation, warning that government would pay heavily when bidders sue.
And on May4, 2022, Muhanga wrote a letter officially informing all the bidders about the cancellation.