Wildlife quota system transforms Matetsi ward

By Victor Sibanda

Hwange – The wildlife quota system has brought unprecedented development to Matetsi Ward in Hwange District, with the community benefiting from hunting quotas allocated to private organizations.

In an interview, Councillor Vulindlela Gasela revealed that the community has decided to use the proceeds from hunting quotas to build essential infrastructure such as schools, horticulture gardens, and water sources.

“We are benefitting from hunting quota which is done by private organisations. Traditionally, we used to share the proceeds from hunting as residents, but we have realised that we should use the money realised to build schools, horticulture gardens and water sources,” said Councillor Gasela.

The community has already made significant progress, erecting nutrition gardens at Kasibi, Lubangwe, and Breakfast using hunting quota proceeds.

Councillor Gasela emphasized that conservation of ecosystems and wildlife is also a top priority, despite the challenges posed by wildlife-human conflicts.

“We conserve nature. We have problems of wildlife attacking our livestock, but we are saying this is ‘Natural God Tax’ We cannot run away from it. The same lion which killed my cow, when it is sold, the proceeds can be used to build a classroom block for the community. We are also conservationists in this Ward,” said Councillor Gasela.

Residents have welcomed the development, saying the hunting proceeds have transformed the ward into a business hub.

“Our schools have been given a face-lift. We have impressive nutrition gardens in the community and some of us have established our personal gardens in our backyards,” said Ms Perpetual Ncube, a resident from Lubangwe.

Ward resident and businessman, Mr Mathinyosi Nkomo, described the hunting quota as the “live wire” of the ward.

“The hunting activities have a season. These are done in winter. Once this is done, we enjoy a portion of the hunted animals. We use this for drilling boreholes and putting up nutrition gardens in the ward. We have good and fertile soils here and we have to utilise it fully in line with the tenets of the National Vision 2030. The hunting companies give us immense assistance. Our infrastructure is rapidly improving,” said Mr Nkomo.

Environmentalists have applauded the community’s efforts to conserve nature while benefiting from wildlife in the same ecosystem.

“It is great that the environment is kept intact. Although there are wildlife-human conflicts, the residents treat their livestock and game the same. After hunting is done, the community gets a portion which helps develop infrastructure,” said Pride Ncube, an environmentalist based in Victoria Falls.

Efforts to seek comments from hunting Safari companies were fruitless as they all cited policy issues.