18 Oct 2023

Ashy, gloomy and somewhat desolate meets the eye as one enters the imposing Banyana Farms with large acres of land charred in gray and black thicket.

The ever spectacular savanna wilderness was recently gobbled up by an ocean of fire, which smoldered on for days. Volunteer fire fighters consisting of members of community and government departments suppressed the fires with great vigor but the greedy wildfire burst the wilderness into flames devouring everything in its path, leaving the wild seemingly depressed.

“After we received a call, we immediately responded, mobilised resources, volunteers and hit the road. We know that bushfires are a serious threat to farmers’ livelihood because years of hard work could be wiped out in a moment,” said Werda Police station commander Superintendent Mompoloki Ramatsia.

Bold and daring, they approached blazing fires to rescue the farms from the relentless inferno, fought vehemently to quench out the fierce fire, which ravaged the farms for four days, knocking down fences, causing destruction to massive acres of forage, which left livestock and wildlife in the lurch.

Police arm, Criminal Investigations Department (CID) were quick to get their boots on the ground, says Superintendent Ramatsia.

Their investigations revealed that the fire accident occurred at Bray Farm community, which is currently under construction and spread to the rest of the farms at Banyana at shell shocking speed, adding that no farm in the vicinity was spared.

He narrated that the catastrophe was ignited by a mere spark from a grinder during wielding and fabrication works at the Bray Community Farm, where there was ongoing construction of a water tank stand.

Unfortunately, sparks fell on the grass which quickly turned the wilderness into a sea of flames. They tried to put it under control but the roaring flames could not back down and ended up crossing to neighboring South African farms.

Fortunately, he said no livestock was affected as the fire started in the afternoon and the farmers were able to contain their livestock in safe areas. “Fires are a fore and a wonder. This is a fire season, so this occurrence is expected. Dry grass has accumulated from the last season. The compact material serves as fuel for fire,” said Department of Forestry and Range Resources Kgalagadi coordinator, Mr Tawana Maunganidze.

The environmental expert advised that in areas like Banyana Farms, farmers should have substantial amount of preparations such as putting in place fire breaks as they keep livestock and game worth millions of Pula.

“Farmers should prepare themselves from hazards, buy fire equipment for their farms such as fire beaters, and boom sprayers. Sadly, we noticed that most farmers do not have these. They rely on government to provide the equipment, which is a challenge to mobilise resources due to the vast distances,” he said.

Mr Maunganidze buttressed the need to draw firebreaks substantial enough to become safe zones for livestock during arson attacks.

According to him, when the fire broke out, the department responded by liaising with different stakeholders, community members as well as Werda police to mobilise resources. A team of 55, which consisted of nine people from Department of Forestry and Range Resources, 10 people from Botswana Defence Force (BDF), 12 from Werda police, 20 volunteers from Bray community, three from Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) while the Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture brought one officer on board.

He said there were re-ignitions because of the wind, which drove some members, “so we stayed to monitor and mopped up some burning logs so that there were no re-ignitions,” he said.

On site, HHH Drilling- a company contracted to construct Bray Community Farm, general assistant Mr Sejoe Sejoe said the fire is a draw back as it delays project completion.

Nonetheless, construction material was safe, “We managed to put out the fire. Fortunately it did not affect the borehole equipment that is being assembled. We made sure to place equipment in an open space so that it was not affected by the fires,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bray Community Farm chairperson, Mr Kelesitse Mokolobe, who was part of the firefighting team said the fire delays progress at the farm, which they are optimistic to put to use. He said the fire catastrophe delays progress since they expected to be handed over the farm but the farm got burnt. “It delays us from moving forward as a community. Currently there is no forage. The wild fire was so intense that it scorched everything,” he said.

Department of Animal Production officer, Mr Promise Mahundu said fire on the farm is a farmer’s worst nightmare and often, it brings significant emotional and economic damage to the farmers. Since there was no forage for thousands of cattle at Banyana Farms, it meant that farmers now had to dig deeper into their pockets to buy stock feed for their livestock.

Mr Mahundu appreciated that there were no fatalities reported and no livestock was lost.  ENDS