25 Jun 2014

Chobe District Council chairperson, Mr Mwanota Kachana has called on councillors to sensitise communities in their respective areas to be always cautious of the wild animals.

Opening a full council meeting in Kasane on June 20, Cllr Kachana said between April and June this year, the district experienced an influx of elephants and buffaloes, particularly in Kasane.

He said the human-wildlife conflict in the area continued to be a major concern, adding that 189 reports were received for various incidents such as damage to property by wildlife.

He said, besides being a danger to human life, the beasts were also a costly affair to government considering that huge amounts of money were usually paid in compensation for damaged property.

On an equally debated issue, the chairperson informed the meeting that the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) had suspended the issuance of fishing licenses for Lake Ngami from June this year until further notice.

He explained that the suspension was due to the unsustainable fishing practices and poor management of waste by fishermen that posed some environmental threats to the lake and its surroundings.

The chairperson, who is also the councillor for Chobe Enclave West, said DWNP no longer issued fishing permits and licenses in community dams and private water bodies.

He said the issuance of such permits and licenses was the responsibility of owners while the department would maintain the issuance of permits and licenses for public and national water bodies.

On other issues, Cllr Kachana said the Gender Affairs Department granted Wild Comfort Camping Equipment (PTY) Ltd P245 259.90 in January to purchase equipment.

He noted that the company was made up of four women and one man and it started renting out its equipment to tour operators, lodges and individuals and that it had already made P17 472.

With regards to the Department of Trade and Consumer Affairs, Cllr Kachana said three inspections were conducted in Kasane this quarter to check for expired goods, halaal regulations and shelf prices versus till price.

He said it was discovered that in most cases, till prices did not tally with shelf prices, something that he said mislead consumers. Cllr Kachana said it was further discovered that the sale of expired goods in supermarkets had gone down.

Regarding the Youth Development Fund (YDF), Cllr Kachana said the Youth department started receiving proposals for 2014/15 financial year and that so far four proposals amounting to P366 788 had been received.

He said two were approved at the tune of P200 000 while the other two were still at the appraisal stage.

The chairperson lamented that despite efforts to sensitise the youth about the fund, the uptake was still low. ENDS