19 Mar 2019

Government has been called upon to strike a balance between needs of the different forms of life existent in the country.

When debating the budget proposals for the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism for the 2019/20 financial year on March 18, Specially Elected Member of Parliament, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo, said there was lack of balance in the ecosystem due to high population of elephants.

Ms Kenewendo stated that as a result, there was need to create a balance since a habitation that was overwhelmed could not survive.

Besides, the lawmaker implored the ministry to put in place a compensatory mechanism for communities in wildlife-rich areas as a way of rewarding them for sustainably living alongside wildlife species.

She said it was not in doubt that such communities had sacrificed their livelihoods in the bid to create livable spaces for the wildlife, hence it was only right that they be rewarded for the sacrifices they had made.

In addition, Ms Kenewendo urged the ministry to teach Batswana about climate change as well as how to adapt to it and also mitigate its effects.

MP for Sefhare-Ramokgonami Ms Dorcas Makgato advised the ministry to work closely with other ministries particularly those of Agricultural Development and Food Security as well as Local Government and Rural Development in an endeavour to help Batswana survive effects of climate change.

She noted that because of the lack of collaboration, people continued to till their ploughing fields with little or no returns after which the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had to step in when a drought was declared.

Thamaga-Kumakwane legislator Mr Tshenolo Mabeo concurred that human/wildlife conflict was growing and had continued to negatively affect the livelihoods of Batswana.

He beseeched government to take the plight of its people seriously and put in place measures through which the problem could be effectively dealt with.

Mr Mabeo further called on government to work hard to avert the looming crisis that was threatening Botswana’s tourism industry as it was being attacked by people from certain quarters.

He said the situation that nearly befell the country’s diamonds when they were almost labelled as blood diamonds should not be allowed to happen with the tourism industry.

Moreover, Mr Mabeo urged the Ministry of Transport and Communications to facilitate the growth of the tourism sector by ensuring that developments such as roads and internet connectivity were available in tourism-rich areas.Chobe MP Mr Machana Shamukuni complained of the state of offices of the Anti-Poaching Unit in Kasane, saying despite them being old, the project to construct new ones had been shelved.

In addition, Mr Shamukuni said wildlife officers in the area lacked proper and adequate housing, adding also that those stationed in national parks were also complaining of overstaying in their duty stations.

On a positive note, he thanked the ministry for having reversed the allocation of a plot to a certain NGO within the Chobe National Park, a decision that he said was widely welcomed by residents as they had deemed the allocation improper.

Mr Haskings Nkaigwa, the MP for Gaborone North raised concern about environmental cleanliness.

He said the lives of residents of Gaborone North were unbearable as they were being made to live with the horrible stench from the Gaborone sewer ponds.

This, he said was an environmental hazard that could affect the health of residents.

However, Mr Nkaigwa said though the construction of the Gaborone sewer network was a welcome development, there remained urgent need to eradicate pit latrines in the city in order to avoid possible contamination of underground water.

On a different issue, he appealed for the setting aside of a budget to develop and promote urban tourism, which he said could be a job creation avenue for Botswana. 

MP for Kanye South Mr Abram Kesupile complained about the state of the Bathoen II Museum, saying it was sad that the project to revitalise it seemed to have been forgotten.

Mr Kesupile said the museum operated under serious resource constraints, citing shortage of vehicles as one of the limitations it was grappling with. ENDS