Thanks to delimitation, more Tsholotsho villages set to benefit from CAMPFIRE
Thandeka Matebesi
A change in ward boundaries following the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s delimitation exercise will see more villages in Tsholotsho benefitting from the hunting concession proceeds, officials have revealed.
Tsholotsho Local Board Chairperson, Councillor Esau Siwela revealed that some villages that were previously not under the Communal Areas Management Program For Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) will start benefiting as a result of the delimitation exercise.
“In addition to the wards that were previously under CAMPFIRE, more villages have been added to the programme. Ward 9 was already a beneficiary before the delimitation exercise then some villages such as Mkhubazi that were previously not benefiting from the proceeds from the hunting concessions were added to the ward and they will now benefit.
Parts of ward 10 like Nemane and Nanda are also now going to be part of CAMPFIRE,” explained Siwela.
Siwela said in the past they had challenges with some sister organisations of the two Safari operators who concentrated development in one ward while other wards under their corporate social responsibility programme lagged behind.
“We have also engaged sister organisations of these hunters (Lodzi and Matupula) to try and incorporate other wards in their development projects because most of the times they would implement development projects only in ward 3 and leave out the other wards. They say other wards are not navigable but we hope that after our engagements they will work it out”, he said.
He said council was aware of the challenges brought about by the delimitation exercise and revealed that there were plans to engage communities and explain how things would work.
“As Council we have resolved that each Councillor will address their respective communities as part of the handover – takeover together with the one who will be representing the ward especially in areas where there will be new representatives.
People did not understand the new boundaries uzwe abanye besithi we were under the leadership of this one in this ward now sesiphuma futhi sisiyangena ngale mhlawumbe sesiyawela ku Councillor ongazinaki izifiso zabantu,” said Siwela.
Zanu PF candidate for ward 10 Councillor Jonathan Ndlovu said at least 4 villages added to the ward are set to benefit from CAMPFIRE.
“In the new ward 10 created by the delimitation exercise, the three villages added to the ward will benefit from the CAMPFIRE programme. The villages added are Thula, Malilawunda and Ngubomlilo which were once part of ward 11 bringing the total number of villages to 11. We are also happy that no villages were removed from the programme.
“Sikhangelele ukuthi uLodzi Hunters uzasincedisa, silama clinic angaphelanga, amadamu afuna ukugejwa lezikolo ezidilikileyo”, said Ndlovu.
Government established the CAMPFIRE programme in the early 1980s to ensure that communities benefit from wildlife resources in their areas.The programme is managed through local authorities which after generating funds, distribute them to wards for development programmes after a needs assessment exercise.
The district was granted Appropriate Authority Status for the management of wildlife in 1991, and each year it is allocated 25 elephants for sale and the funds generated are used for community development.
Tsholotsho Local Board Chief executive officer Mr Nkululeko Sibanda said at least 10 wards are currently benefiting from the Community Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE).
The local board’s boss could however not be drawn to comment on whether a change in ward boundaries would not cause conflict between the two hunting operators in the area.
Tsholotsho district has two safari hunting areas: one in Tsholotsho North which is approximately 170 000ha and 240 000ha in Tsholotsho South. Matupula Hunters operates in wards 9, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2, while Lodzi Hunters operates in Wards 1, 7, 8, 10, and 21.
In the past the two hunting operators have been locked in bitter court battles over hunting grounds with each accusing the other of encroaching into its territory.
In 2017 the two hunting operators were locked in a court battle over elephant hunting rights in Tsholotsho North. The then administration had given Lodzi Hunters and Safaris a permit to hunt elephants in Tsholotsho North to fundraise for the construction of a football stadium in an area which Matupula had exclusive hunting rights.
In 2019, the High Court of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo dismissed an urgent application by Lodzi Hunters and Safaris challenging a decision by the local authority to award a tender for the annual quota in its hunting concession to rival, Matupula Hunters.
Lodzi Hunters accused the local authority of not following proper procurement procedure
