Battle rages over Save Conservancy
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
September 21, 2012 in Opinion
WHILE some stakeholders have with cautious optimism welcomed President
Robert Mugabe’s resolve to deal with the latest demonstration of greed by
senior Zanu PF officials and army commanders who have grabbed wildlife
conservancies, uncertainty lingers over the fate of Save Valley Conservancy.
Report by Herbert Moyo
Tourism minister Walter Mzembi must have felt a deep sense of vindication
after Mugabe reportedly tore into army commanders and senior Zanu PF
officials at a recent politburo meeting for grabbing lucrative safari
landholdings in the Save Valley Conservancy, the largest private wildlife
sanctuary in the world, for self-aggrandisement.
Mugabe ordered all army commanders and senior party officials who invaded
conservancies to move out immediately, while demanding that all
conservancies must now be turned into national parks.
Consequently, there would be massive evictions of army commanders,
ministers, senior civil servants and top Zanu PF officials from safari areas
across the country which they had expropriated and are making a killing
through hunting activities and even slaughtering animals to sell meat.
Mugabe reportedly described the bigwigs as “greedy”, and his choice of words
was in sync with Mzembi who was criticised by his Zanu PF colleagues for
daring to say the latest land seizures were counterproductive and would dent
the country’s image ahead of next year’s United Nations World Tourism
Organisation Conference.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo confirmed the politburo had set up a
committee including Environment minister Francis Nhema, Mzembi, Lands
minister Herbert Murerwa and Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo to
look into the feasibility of turning the conservancies into national parks,
and also propose models that ensure communities also benefit.
While players in the country’s tourism industry — showing signs of recovery
following Zimbabwe’s prolonged socio-economic meltdown accompanied by
near-pariah status — have applauded Mugabe for putting his foot firmly down
on the wildlife land grab, they are wary the decision to transform the
conservancies into national parks, which like other parastatals have been
performing dismally, a move they fear would be ruinous to the
conservancies.
Given that infrastructure in national parks is run-down and rampant poaching
is the order of the day, it is difficult to appreciate how turning
conservancies, which have been well run by a combination of foreign
investors and locals, into national parks would assist costly conservation
efforts, continue to attract much-needed tourists and benefit local
communities.
Sources in the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) board told the Zimbabwe
Independent this week the department of national parks and wildlife recently
admitted in a board meeting they have failed to run national parks. The
Ministry of Tourism and the ZTA are now advocating a broad-based approach,
which would ensure continued investment into the conservancies in
partnership with local communities.
Mzembi, who has been fighting for the reversal of Nhema’s controversial
“wildlife reform” policy, was thrilled by the president’s decision to
withdraw the leases from “greedy” individuals, saying it demonstrated
commitment by the government and Zanu PF to empower local communities,
preserve wildlife and promote tourism.
“Without being briefed on the policy outcome including the terms of
reference, if what is being reported that there has been a policy shift from
empowering individuals to a broad-based approach is true, then this is
exactly what we have been fighting for,” Mzembi told the Independent this
week.
ZTA boss Karikoga Kaseke said his organisation supports broad-based
initiatives and expressed eagerness to appear before the committee to make
recommendations on the suitability of transforming conservancies into
national parks.
However, MDC-T Masvingo provincial secretary Tongai Matutu blasted Zanu PF,
pointing out it should have been cabinet, not the politburo to decide on the
conservancy battle. He described the decision to convert all conservancies
into national parks as “tantamount to nationalisation which is not part of
government policy”.
“It will only accelerate looting, poaching and other forms of asset
stripping,” he warned, “as national parks are a parastatal headed by
political appointees who have no culture of transparency in their operations
but sing for their supper,” he said.
For Matutu, the best way forward would be to adopt a model which facilitates
the empowerment of local communities, like the share-ownership trusts, in
partnership with foreign entrepreneurs. Chiredzi chiefs Tshovani and Gudo
have concurred, accusing Nhema and Masvingo governor Titus Maluleke of going
against the concept of broad-based empowerment by prioritising a few
individuals and falsely claiming chiefs had endorsed the appropriation of
conservancies.
Vice-chairman of the Save Valley Conservancy Wilfried Pabst also agreed with
the chiefs.
Pabst said they had already fully complied with indigenisation because
two-thirds of all properties in the conservancy have indigenous partners and
they had the full support of another parastatal, Arda.
“The chairman of Arda, who has a property within Save, is also the chairman
of Save and I am the vice-chair,” he said.
“The wildlife-based land reform policy Maluleke refers to and which has been
waved in our face for years does not exist. However, Save Conservancy
general manager David Goosen said there should be a balance of interests in
handling the issue. “This is obviously something big and it has to be
debated because there are a lot of factors to consider including balancing
the government’s desire for indigenisation against the need to attract and
retain foreign investors, as well as ensuring local communities benefit from
the proceeds of conservancies in their areas, in addition to ensuring
sustainable conservation of wildlife resources.”
Goosen said the country should be looking at crafting policies to turn more
of Zimbabwe’s arid areas in natural farming regions four and five into
conservancies, noting this would not only promote tourism and conserve
wildlife, but also ensure employment for thousands of jobless locals.
So while some will breathe a sigh of relief at the eviction of “greedy” Zanu
PF heavyweights whose presence in conservancies was threatening to decimate
flora and fauna and cause environmental degradation, there is still
uncertainty on what will happen to world-renowned Save Valley Conservancy.