25 Nov 2021

Community trusts have requested a capacity building training for their members in areas of marketing. tourism.

The executive director of Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (NCONGO), Mr Siyoka Simasiku said the community trusts  would  derive maximum benefit in both consumptive and non-consumptive  tourism. 

H e said they would be able to negotiate better when selling their hunting quotas.

Mr Simasiku said this when briefing the District Development Committee (DDC) about the lessons learnt from the recent Community Based Organisations (CBOs) workshop on the 2021 hunting and photographic seasons review.

The workshop aim was to assess head leases, land use plans situation and assess the past experiences with tourism business partnership for both consumptive and non-consumptive tourism.

Mr Simasiku said the trusts also recommended the removal of the middle man in negotiations, with a hope that they could generate better profits if they negotiate for themselves.

He also noted that some trusts indicated that they had generated better income in the recent trophy hunting and increased employment opportunities. 

It was unfortunate as some of the trusts which benefited from hunting had not started their planned projects to benefit their communities, he said.

Furthermore, he explained that the community trusts also emphasised the need to have trophy hunting expos, where they could market their wildlife quota directly to clients.

Mr Simasiku reported that the trusts complained that trophy hunting was carried out in certain concessions and not allocated to nearby community, such as  Shorobe  which is within NG35. Trusts called on government to rectify the issue and ensure that nearby communities benefitted from hunting in their local environment. They also argued that hunting was undertaken in marginal areas not viable for photographic tourism while on the other hand photographic tourism was undertaken in prime wildlife areas. Mr Simasiku also noted that trusts had also recommended that it was critical that they become shareholders in both the consumptive and non-consumptive tourism development in Botswana.

The trusts, he said also called for strengthening of governance of CBOs by setting standards in terms of educational qualifications on who should be on the Board of Trustees for CBOs.

By so doing, he said the community could elect the right people who could negotiate better deals in leases as opposed to the current situation where board members lacked knowledge on several issues resulting in delays in lease renewals.

In  response, some DDC members welcomed the recommendations, saying they would complement the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) manual policy.

Botswana Tourism Organization (BTO) development officer, Mr Thatayaone Mmapatsi welcomed the idea to organise hunting expos and advised NCONGO to liase with his office so that they include hunting business in value chain.

BTO, he said, had been doing value chain in tourism and they were to align what they were doing to the reset agenda, adding that it was time to look into hunting business.

Acting district commissioner, Mr Boammaruri Otlhogile advised departments to help trusts to benefit from their natural resources.

He said it was worrisome as some issues take long to be addressed, citing the issue in which Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (OKMCT) had long requested a refund of P2.9 million, which was paid during the introduction of land bank in 2016. ENDS