28 Aug 2016

Residents from the six villages under Lake Ngami Conservation Trust have called on government to officially open fishing in order to curb continued illegal fishing at the lake.

They made the plea during a meeting addressed by the Vice President, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi recently.

They said some people continued to fish illegally, despite efforts to patrol the lake.

They said the district had been hard hit by severe drought and fishing was the only hope for the communities to survive since they had lost their cattle. 

Residents appreciated that the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) was being developed but insisted that fishing be opened while waiting to complete the plan.

“We are dying of hunger and yet we have the lake which is our source of income and it also disheartening as some people are fishing at our expense while the trust tries to finalise all the logistics;” said the Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Maletelo Molatlhiwa.

She pointed out that they thought by this time the trust could have been in a position to regulate fishing at the lake but decried that Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had been delayed.

Ms Molatlhiwa appreciated the P4 million allocated to the trust by the Office of the President to finalise logistics in order to start operations.

She requested that the concerned communities be allowed to fish for the four months left before closing of the fishing season so that they make ends meet.

She assured the Vice President that the trust was ready to monitor and regulate fishing at the lake to ensure environmental compliance by all.

The trust chairperson, Mr Frisco Gabokakangwe shared the sentiments noting that if fishing was open it would augment government efforts to eradicate poverty.

He said temporary measures would be put in place to allow fishermen to continue with their businesses noting that they would liaise with relevant departments to ensure the fishermen follow the set procedure and comply.

Mr Moemi Batshabang form Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, said the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme would be implemented in fishing, noting that they were working on regulations.

Mr Batshabang said efforts were being made to fast track the process so that fishing could be open soon but did not reveal the date.

He said the trust would now work with the Technical Advisory Committee which advices the ministry's management.

Mr Masisi told residents that there was need for them to consult with relevant authorities to iron out issues and map the way forward.

He said residents had indicated that they wanted to fish legally as they had come up with solutions to the challenges. ENDS