25 Apr 2013

The MP for Okavango, Mr Bagalatia Arone has appealed to government to find a lasting solution to the conflict of land-use which exists in Ngamiland.

Commenting on the National Development Plan (NDP) 10 draft midterm review on sustainable environment chapter on April 24, the legislator stated that this conflict arose from the fact that three different economic sectors compete for land in Ngamiland.

He pointed out that people use land for economic activities like food production and livestock rearing, while on the other hand, government has declared the Okavango region a tourism area.

Mr Arone complained that farmers in Ngamiland are negatively affected by the presence of wild animals because they destroy their crops. He said the destruction has had costly implications on the lives of communities in the region.

The MP has therefore appealed to government to design a clear concept of land use in the Okavango, which would solve this conflict, and enable people to exist peacefully alongside wildlife without their crops getting destroyed.

Mr Arone also urged the government to move towards rooting out what he termed ‘white collar poaching’ in Ngamiland. He alleged ‘white collar poaching’ is done for commercial purposes by rich people. He said these ‘white collar poachers’ are responsible for the declining numbers of wild animals.

MP for South East South, Mr Odirile Motlhale said he was disturbed by the fact that there are little mechanisms in place to protect wildlife in Botswana.

Mr Motlhale therefore, advised government to beef up its anti-poaching strategies to protect animals like elephants and rhinoceroses because they are in danger of extinction from poaching activities.

He also asked government to promote and educate Batswana about diamond trade during the remaining years of NDP 10.

He said the country has enormous wealth from diamonds, yet majority of indigenous Batswana are not aware that they can legally trade in them.

For his contribution, MP for Tonota North, Mr Fidelis Molao expressed discomfort at the way big companies illegally mine sand in rivers around North East. Mr Molao said companies steal sand at night and over-mine it, something that greatly damages the environment.

“This illegal mining of sand must be controlled to protect rivers and the environment,” he said. Mr Molao added that phane harvesters should be sensitised about the importance of protecting it.

He said there is always mass harvesting of phane for commercial purposes whenever the phane season comes, which has put it at risk of extinction.

He urged government to give areas where phane is found to community trusts so that they can control the way it is harvested.

MP for Nata/Gweta, Mr Rayner Makosha urged government to unsure that underground water is protected from contamination.

Mr Makosha said there are a lot of underground water resources in his constituency, but the water table is being contaminated by pit latrine toilets found in almost every homestead. ENDS