Save Conservancy, Zim shoots self in foot
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Wednesday, 05 September 2012 19:29
Tinashe Madava, Senior Reporter
THE Zimbabwean political scene is like a tainted tiara. While the country is
blessed with vast natural resources, bickering and looting has seen the
majority of the country’s population benefiting very little in a sea of
abundance.
The Save Valley Conser-vancy is the latest among a growing list of political
war zones unravelling in the country under the guise of black economic
empowerment aka indigenisation.
The move by government to issue hunting permits to 25 black “aspiring”
ZANU-PF safari operators at the Save Valley Conserv-ancy in the Lowveld has
torched a storm among the local community, conservationists as well as
political foes.
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management, Francis Nhe-ma,
has come under fire for awarding the permits that would allow ZANU-PF
bigwigs to bring rich clients to hunt down the game, particularly exposing
the endangered rhino, sparking a bitter war of words among cabinet
colleagues.
Tourism Minister, Walter Mzembi and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)
have come out guns blazing accusing Nhema of parcelling out plots at Save
Conservancy without regard to the bigger picture: threats to Zimbabwe’s
co-hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UN-WTO)
Congress with neighbouring Zambia next year.
The beneficiaries, among them, senior ZANU-PF poli-ticians Shuvai Mahofa,
Stan Mudenge, Titus Maluleke and other top military officials were granted
the leases at Save Valley Conservancy, a prime wildlife sanctuary in the
Lowveld, four months after a report by the Parlia-mentary Committee on
Natural Resources had condemned the occupation of the conservancy.
The legislators, drawn from the three political parties, signatories to the
Global Political Agreement, had recommended that conservancies must not be
allocated to individuals at the expense of whole communities who were
earmarked to benefit in the spirit of indigenisation.
They recommended that the Natural Resources Ministry should award leases
through share transfers, joint ventures and community trusts in a move
reminiscent of the Campfire projects.
But this did not happen.
Instead, Nhema’s move made a mockery of the parliamentary committee that
sort to bring sanity to the chaotic land reform programme in the wildlife
sector.
The committee had concluded that: “These beneficiaries were merely imposed
to conservators despite assurances from the Ministry of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment that there was a transparent system in place
to identify indigenous partners through the Zimbabwe Investment Authority’s
independent board using the databases for both foreign and local investors.”
Yet in some circles, the debate has since assumed racial overtones where
white farmers are seen as resisting the coming in of black farmers in the
sector.
Such reports have been consistent with the land ref-orm exercise.
A Chegutu district lands officer had to resign after being labelled a “white
sympathiser” when he gave evidence in court that tended to support a white
farmer.
Charges of double dipping, aiding and abetting poaching against the black
licence holders by the white farmers were met with counter-accusations of
unwillingness to work with indigenous people and outright greed levelled
against the white farmers.
Yet, the beneficiaries of Nhema’s benevolence have also received farms under
the land reform exercise.
One reader who left a comment on The Financial Gaz-ette website, Progress
Mupopoti, has lambasted Nhema and labelled politicians as being “greedy” for
mus-cling into the Save Valley Conservancy
“Why do you give greedy politicians the opportunity to plunder our natural
resources in the name of indigenisation?
“A wise man should have co-opted communities around Save Cons-ervancy into
wild life conservation through forming trusts with direct interest into
companies of conservators.”
Mupopoti said for many years locals have wat-ched with envy, while
politicians harvested rich rewards from the land reform programme, leaving
locals in abject poverty.
“We therefore don’t see much of a difference, when it comes to empowerment,
between the former and new conservators. The communities are the biggest
losers in this stand-off and will remain losers until such time governance
restores the power to communities and when environmental issues become
governance issues,” added Mupopoti.
In a recent interview with this paper, vice-chairperson of the Save Valley
Conservancy, Wilfred Pabst, also labelled Nhema’s move as an enrichment
exercise that had nothing to do with indigenisation.
“We were not consulted. Everyone, including our chairman (Basil Nyabadza)
was taken aback. It has nothing to do with indigenisation. There is a lot
more going on,” said Pabst.
Now, there are revelations that the country risks a ban from the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, emanating from the chaos in the Save
Valley Conserv-ancy saga, a move set to cost the country US$30 million in
safari business.
Trophy exports to the US constitute 80 percent of the hunting industry’s
total exports.
The hunting season runs from April to November each year and some critics
have questioned the wisdom of awarding hunting permits in the middle of the
hunting season.
Some analysts have said the country’s image has been dented ahead of the
co-hosting of the UNWTO general assembly next year.
The tourism indaba is also under threat from revelations that officials in
the Ministry had doctored information in their bid document with the effect
of misrepresenting facts on the ground.
All this has raised the question why the country is constantly shooting
itself in the foot.