Minister urges Govt to conduct wildlife census

Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira has urged Government to conduct a census to determine the impact of Cyclone Idai on wildlife in the Save Valley Conservancy, which is located in south-east Lowveld.

Eastern parts of the province, including districts such as Bikita, Zaka and Chiredzi, which border Save Valley, were some of the hardest hit by the rampaging cyclone that affected more than 6 000 households across the province.

Save Valley, arguably one of the biggest wildlife habitats in Zimbabwe, is situated along Masvingo’s border with Manicaland where Chimanimani and Chipinge were the worst affected by the tropical cyclone in terms of loss of human life and the toll of infrastructural damage.

Minister Chadzamira said it was important for the ongoing humanitarian relief efforts to also focus on sanctuaries for wildlife.

‘‘It is important also to carry out a census on the extent of the damage to wildlife in the Save Valley Conservancy which is located closer the epicentre of the cyclone that swept through parts of eastern Zimbabwe,” he said.

‘‘The census will help to identify requisite interventions that can be made to rescue wildlife and also gauge the toll of the disaster on animal life in the habitat, considering the magnitude of the damage visited upon parts of Masvingo by Cyclone Idai.’’

Minister Chadzamira said Save Valley was one of the province’s major tourist attraction sites, hence the need to assess damage that could have been caused by the tropical cyclone.

He said there was need to investigate the impact of the cyclone on other tourism sites and facilities across the province.

Tourism is one of the main anchors of Masvingo’s drive to grow its Gross Domestic Product in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision of making Zimbabwe an Upper Middle Income economy by 2030.

Besides a rich wildlife resource base, Masvingo is also home to tourist attraction sites such as the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site and the giant Tugwi-Mukosi Dam, which is Zimbabwe’s largest inland water body.

Other than Manicaland, Masvingo was the worst affected by Cyclone Idai after five people were killed, with 17 others injured, while bridges, roads and schools in Gutu, Bikita, Zaka and Masvingo districts were ravaged.