17 Apr 2019

Residents of Senete in the Nkange constituency have called for help regarding a pride of lions, which has been terrorising their village since the beginning of this year.

They expressed their fear during a kgotla meeting addressed by their Member of Parliament, Mr Edwin Batshu on April 16.

Kgosi Wilson Mothowetsho of Senete said residents were afraid to even follow their cattle to water points since lions were roaming around.

The traditional leader said because of this fear, farmers had moved their cattle to areas closer to the fields and this resulted in the destruction of crops by livestock.

He noted that one of the farmers lost nine cattle to lions while others also lost donkeys.
Kgosi Mothowetsho said they had since reported their plight to wildlife officers but they were still waiting to be assisted.
Another resident, Mr Nkwali Lemogang said four of his cattle fell prey to lions in his presence at a water ponds.
He further criticized wildlife officers for taking too long to assess the exhibit.
He also decried the P3000 they received from government as compensation per cow saying the money was below the market price.
Mr Lemogang thus suggested for a review on the compensation amount to enable farmers to replace their cattle without having to top up with their own money.
Regarding elephants that caused damage for the past few years, the residents appreciated the assistance they got from wildlife officers noting that although they were still present around in the village, the damages they caused had since declined.
On other issues, the village development committee (VDC) secretary, Mr Thomas Olothantse said Tutume-Maitengwe road was yet to be maintained after it was damaged by heavy rain in March 2017.
He said the road was in a bad state and putting the lives of motorist in jeopardy as bridges and culverts might collapse anytime.
He said the authorities had promised to maintain this road to no avail.
In response to the residents’ concerns, senior wildlife warden for Tutume, Ms Ketimeletswe Mondiya said her office had requested assistance from headquarters to track and capture the pride of lion roaming near the village.
Meanwhile regarding the maintenance of the road, Mr Batshu said he had been making constant follow up with the department of roads and hoped that something would be done during the just started financial year.
On issue of wildlife, he stated that the government had completed consultations on the hunting ban and they were now waiting for the final decision on re-introduction of hunting.
He nonetheless said wildlife officers would continue to assist residents when the need arise. ENDS