11 Apr 2017

Senior chief representative, Kgosi Charles Letsholathebe has urged people who qualified for commercial fishing in the Okavango Delta to comply with the fishing policies and regulations.

He made the plea after a raffle draw recently where over 3 000 people tried their luck to get a licence to fish in the delta but only 356 qualified.

Kgosi Letsholathebe encouraged the winners to take care of their licences adding that they should not transfer them as it has been the practice.

To those who failed to acquire licences, he urged them to be patient as their time will come.

Kgosi Letsholathebe also questioned the criteria used for applications and asked relevant offices to come to the main kgotla to conduct the whole process.

He said the kgotla was the most accessible place for everyone and also noted that if all the process was done there, it would promote transparency and fairness.

Different stakeholders such as veterinary services and District Health Management Team (DHMT) apprised the winners who would soon camp in the delta on issues such as beef measles, HIV/AIDS, Malaria outbreak and water related diseases.
Mr Keboutlwetse Kwambala from DHMT advised them to be vigilant and use mosquito repellant while at the camps.

He said mosquitoes hid in tall grass and dirty water.

He also urged them to come forward when they experienced signs and symptoms of Malaria to seek help from the health facilities. Cases of Malaria are reporting to be increasing in the district as Mr Kwambala indicated that in Okavango, 900 cases had been recorded while in Ngami about 100 patients were attended.

He advised fishermen  to ensure a clean environment where they camp to minimize the breeding spaces for the mosquitoes.

Fishers were also informed to be cautious as where many people camp, the Sexual Transmitted Infections (STIs) are easily spread.

An official from department of Wildlife and National Parks, Mr Mpho Setlogile urged fishers to abide by the policies and regulations in place.

He reminded them about the dry fish export ban and advised them to follow the laid procedures.

He explained that the ban would run for 12 months until some regulations were put in place.

Meanwhile, in an effort to control and regulate commercial fishing in the Okavango Delta, the department of Wildlife and National Parks through the Fisheries unit has introduced a new system where a raffle was conducted and winners issued with licences.

Mr Choto Choto from Fisheries Unit, explained that due to high demand of applications for commercial fishing, the department had to make an administrative decision to control the number of licences, population of fishers and also fish population.

The department also took a decision to demarcate the delta into seven fishing zones and each zone was allocated with quotas.

It was reported that zoning and allocation of quotas were set based on scientific research and models. The zones were developed by grouping villages together looking at accessible fishing grounds.

However, in zone three which covers Maun, 2443 applications were received and the quota was 176, zone 5  covers Khwai and there were 38 applications and the quota was five while in zone six which covers Mababe/Sankoyo, 10 people tried  their luck and the quota was five.

Zone seven covered Boteti with a quota of 170 and 596 people applied.

The names of the winners would be made available for public view in area such as dikgotla, notice boards and other areas used for public advertising.

After reaching the required number of quote, an extra number was raffled per zone as reserve number of licences.

Mr Choto explained that the reserve list would be used when those who won did not obtain their licences in a stated period or they had been blacklisted for wildlife offences. ENDS