Three Zambia National Service ZNS officers have been discharged for selling maize products confiscated from smugglers at borders.
Eastern Province Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo has confirmed stating that one other officer has been demoted because of the same misconduct.
Mr. Kasolo revealed this when reacting to reports that some ZNS officers deployed to curb smuggling of mealie meal into neighbouring countries are selling the confiscated merchandise to villagers.
He says if proven to be right the erring officers will be dealt with severely adding that officers should stop involving themselves in such activities because they were deployed to curb the smuggling of Zambia’s staple food to other countries.
And speaking to Breeze News, villagers from Paramount Chief Mpezeni’s area said that some officers had confiscated their mealie meal bags and later sold them to other villagers in a nearby village.
One of the villagers, Rabson Phiri says his efforts to convince the officers that the four bags of mealie meal were for home consumption was ignored.