17 Jan 2017

Attaching compensation value to loss of a human being is degrading.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Mr Slumber Tsogwane has said.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Xhomu recently  he said  attaching value to loss of a human being due to killings done by elephants or wild animals was degrading the status of humans.

Mr Tsogwane noted that arrangement of how relatives of the deceased are assisted deserves special treatment citing it could not be compared to that of killed domestic animals.

Therefore there is an arrangement that is made between the deceased' s relatives and the department of wildlife when elephants have killed a human being.

Wildlife officer Mr John Kepaletswe stated that government was making efforts to curb human/wildlife conflict by enacting 106 kilometres fence.

The fence that would run alongside Makgadikgadi National Park dividing wild animals from the tribal land starts from Moremaoto to Sookwane three.

Mr Tsogwane was responding to one of the residents who had inquired about the amount of compensation when a person gets killed by elephants.

The Deputy Village Development Commitee chairperson Mr Osimolotse Lekgoko complained of lack of water in the village, failure to communicate by Botswana Power Corporation during interruptions.

He also expressed  concern that there was a high crime rate in Xhumo adding that officers were transferred without replacing them for a period of about two years.

In response Water Utilities official Mr Kutlwano Simon,  acknowledged lack of water in Xhumo saying the village borehole has a low yield. BOPA