27 Apr 2014

The President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, has pleaded with residents of Senete in the Tutume Sub-district to learn to live harmoniously with elephants.

Addressing a kgotla meeting at Senete on April 24, Lt Gen. Khama said it was difficult to control elephants.He encouraged the residents to liaise with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) and learn how they could scare away the elephants and prevent them from destroying their crops.

He said it would be a drawback for government to assist people to plough through the Integrated Support Programme for Arable Agricultural Development (ISPAAD) only for the crops to be destroyed by elephants.

He also encouraged the residents to participate in Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings without expecting any remuneration from the government. He said the government was playing its role in the education system and it was upon the parents to play their part through PTAs.

The President was responding to issues raised by the Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Ms Jane Mbise, who requested government to relocate elephants as they were destroying crops.

Ms Mbise had also suggested that PTA members should be given allowances in order to encourage active participation in education issues. She requested for the tarring of Zibalamakhiya road and the installation of signboards for government institutions.

The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama, said his ministry had a number of programmes geared towards assisting farmers to deal with problem of wild animals; one such programme was the usage of chilli powder to scare elephants away from farms. Mr Khama said the DWNP toured villages in the Nkange constituency to teach farmers how to use the chilli powder.

Mr Letlhogela Radipata, an engineer with the department of roads said his department was aware of the lack of signboards for government institutions, but said he was hopeful that in the current financial year they would be installed.

He appealed to farmers along the Tutume-Maitengwe Road to keep their cattle away from the road. Mr Radipata explained that it would be difficult to engage a company that removed livestock from the road as it was not fenced.

The Central District Council secretary, Mr Gaolatlhe Dipholo, explained that due to budgetary constraints, the Zibalamakhiya road could not be tarred but the council would keep on gravelling and grading it.

A resident, Mr Batisani Maswibillili, decried the condition at the Tutume Primary Hospital where, he said, there was only one ward that accommodated both gender, including patients with communicable diseases. He requested that the Tutume Sub-District should be upgraded to a full-fledged district.

In response, President Khama said he was aware of the situation at the hospital and upon his return to Gaborone, he would convene a meeting with the relevant ministry officials to try and map a way forward.

He said the issue of the full-fledged district reached his office through the office of the Vice President (VP) but noted that the hospital was a priority. ENDS