16 Mar 2016

The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama says the number of Batswana entrepreneurs participating in the tourism hospitality industry is increasing.

Presenting his ministry’s budget estimates for the 2016/17 financial year totaling over P828.9 million in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Khama said the number of tourism facilities owned by local businesses has risen to 762.

“For quite some time we have seen a steady increase in tourism facilities owned by citizens. Out of 1 247 tourism facilities, 762 are wholly citizen owned, 251 are joint ventures and only 234 are foreign owned,” the minister said. 

Mr Khama also informed Parliament that his ministry would, before this year ends, have finished compiling and analysing tourism statistics that would help to determine the contribution of the industry to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Botswana.

Mr Khama also explained that the ministry was close to completing the tourism policy, and that it was also finalising the development of dams’ tourism master plan for Letsibogo and Thune dams. “The tourism policy will provide the much needed direction for tourism industry now and into the future, consistent with the sustainable development goals,” Mr Khama said.

Furthermore, he said they were pursuing tourism development and diversification strategies, which include culture and heritage partnerships with communities. 

He stated that efforts to promote Botswana’s cultural and natural heritage were going to continue in the coming financial year with construction of gate houses at Old Palapye, Ntsweng, Baratani Hill, Matsieng and Manyana Monuments under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP).

Regarding the issue of human-wildlife conflict, Mr Khama said damage caused by problem animals such as elephants, lions and cheetahs has resulted with his ministry having to pay compensation to farmers worth more than P10 million. 

He said a concerted effort was required to ensure the uptake of strategies against human-wildlife conflict in order to reduce demands for compensation. The strategies, he pointed out, include the use of chilli pepper by farmers, herding dogs, black shades and keeping livestock in kraals at night.

Mr Khama said the hunting moratorium had shown positive results in terms of reversing some of the wildlife declines, with the elephant population now estimated at around 170 000.

He also said the ministry was reviewing the Fish Protection Regulations of 2008 and pointed that efforts to monitor fish stocks would be stepped up. “Utilisation of fish resources presents an opportunity for communities to develop, but I cannot emphasise enough that this must be done in a sustainable manner. In this regard efforts to monitor fish stocks will be stepped up,” he said.

Mr Khama also highlighted that the preparation of Botswana climate change policy was nearing completion. 

He said the policy would facilitate mainstreaming of climate change in development planning and resultant climate change adaptation and migration response strategies.

Meanwhile, Parliament has approved the budget proposals submitted by the minister on Tuesday. 

This included over P615 million in recurrent estimates and P213 million in development estimates. 

Mr Khama said the Department of Wildlife and National Parks would get P128.3 million from the development budget for construction of staff houses at Sedudu, management plans for protected areas, construction of the Kang anti-poaching unit, bulk services for Kasane and Maun anti-poaching units, the department’s fence maintenance and development and wildlife borehole drilling and water reticulation.

Furthermore, he said P2.7 million would be spent on the procurement of equipment and vehicles for the Ncojane Synoptic Station, while P6.8 million would be spent by the Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control for implementation of its programmes. 

Supporting the budget proposal, the MP of Tati East, Mr Guma Moyo complained about elephants that destroy people’s crops in his constituency. 

He asked the minister to consult the community and find a lasting solution to the challenge, saying there was a need for peaceful co-existence between wild animals and human beings. 

He also asked the ministry to come up with ways that could lead to communities around Dikgathong Dam benefitting from the tourism potential in the area.

Sefhare-Ramokgonami MP, Ms Dorcas Makgato asked the minister to address the issue of human-elephants conflicts in her constituency. 

She also pleaded with the minister to device ways of protecting small scale businesses that trade on Morula tree fruits at Mathako from big businesses which cheat them by buying their products cheaply.  

Kgalagadi South MP, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi asked the minister to speed up the formulation of a policy on climate change because the phenomenon has adversely impacted on the lives of Batswana. 

He also asked the ministry to develop a hazardous waste landfill. 

Furthermore, he called on the government to help community trusts in his constituency with funding because they have been negatively affected by the hunting ban.

The MP for Maun West, Mr Tawana Moremi said he was not supporting the budget proposal because the minister has failed to address challenges faced by Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) organisation. He also accused the government of usurping land in tourism areas from communities. Ends