02 Sep 2021

Lake Ngami Development Trust has decided to look for investors who will form joint ventures to help diversify streams of income and ensure the trust’s sustainability.

Trust chairperson Mr Mr Sekano Bodio said in an interview that through a joint venture, the trust could embark on more projects for income adding that they have been struggling to generate funds for years.

“We believe that if we can successfully secure an investor, we will be able to achieve our goal of benefiting the affected communities economically as expected,” he added.

He said they were targeting investors who would represent the interests of communities as their mandate was to promote conservation and sustainable use of resources found in and around the lake to better the lives of communities affiliated to the trust.

Mr Bodio, however, noted that they had someone who had shown interest to work with the trust as a patron and was optimistic that should their negotiations go well, they could work together to transform the lake into a tourism hub.

The chairperson appreciated that leadership in villages affiliated to the trust had welcomed the idea of an investor adding that the trust leadership was equally concerned that communities had not yet benefited since the trust started operating.

 He said initially they had pinned their hopes on the charcoal project which was not generating income as expected.

Since the trust depend more on fishing market for source of income, Mr Bodio said they had to suspended the activities as they had failed to construct ablution blocks due to financial constraints. 

The trust was issued with 200 quotas of fishing licences from department of Wildlife and National Parks to facilitate fishing. 

Mr Bodio noted that the lake area had a lot to offer in terms of tourism activities and believed it could attract investors help sustain the future of the ailing trust. 

The trust he said boasts of a big ranch which could be used for hunting as well as Lebu farm, an attractive place with sand dunes which could be a hub for tourism activities like in Khawa village.

 Meanwhile, Mr Bodio also called for the establishment of Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) unit in Maun so that community trusts could easily access services and ensure smooth implementation of the CBNRM programme.

The CBNRM programme aims to achieve biodiversity conservation and rural development, especially improved rural livelihoods.  BOPA