http://allafrica.com/stories/2...90899.html?viewall=1


Zimbabwe: Stray Lions From Botswana Descend On Beitbridge
29 March 2013


LIONS believed to have strayed from Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana have descended on Maramani area here where they are reportedly killing livestock.

Maramani ward councillor, Clr Luka Ndou yesterday said Shashe and Limpopo were the worst affected villages where 10 cattle have so far been killed by the predators.

"A pride of lions from Botswana has strayed into Maramani area where it is preying on our livestock and so far we have reports of 10 cattle having been killed.

"This is an issue of grave concern particularly taking into account that local villagers rely on cattle farming for a living.

"We are appealing to the relevant authorities to address this problem as a matter of urgency," he said.

Mr Morgan Muleya, one of the affected villagers, said: "The lions have killed two beasts from my kraal while my neighbour lost two calves. What continues to worry us as villagers is that relevant authorities were notified but they are not doing anything to address the problem."

Clr Ndou also expressed concern over hyenas, which are reportedly terrorising villagers in the same area.

He said villagers were losing an average of 20 livestock per month to the hyenas.

"The hyenas mainly target donkeys while grazing at night and every month we get reports of about 20 animals, especially donkeys having been attacked by hyenas," said Clr Ndou.

Clr Ndou said efforts were being made to engage a local safari operator to address the problem, which has affected the villagers since last year.

The village head for Maramani, Mr John Maramani said their records indicated that so far more than 100 donkeys have been killed.

Maramani is situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Tuli Rivers.

Meanwhile, a serious shortage of public transport has hit Maramani and surrounding areas resulting in unscrupulous unregistered transport operators capitalising on the situation by charging exorbitant fares.

Clr Ndou expressed concern and urged Government to chip in with assistance.

"We are facing a serious problem of transport to travel between Beitbridge and Maramani ward and villagers are currently relying on one bus, which plies the route once a week leaving them at the mercy of private transporters who charge high fares," he said.

A single journey to Beitbridge cost R150 using a private transport while buses charge R80 for the same distance.

"We are appealing to Government to bring back Zupco buses, which used to ply the route at affordable fares and again we are also urging other bus companies to come on board as the fares charged by private vehicles are beyond the reach of an average person," said Clr Ndou.

Bus operators are shunning the Beitbridge-Maramani route citing bad roads.

Most of the roads and bridges linking the area with Beitbridge town were damaged by floods resulting in them being inaccessible.

Several transporters have pulled out of the route.

Some of the bridges, which were destroyed more than 10 years ago by Cyclone Eline-induced rains in 2000, have not yet been repaired.

Villagers in the area are also facing a problem of communication and the locals rely on South African and Botswana mobile networks.

"We are appealing to local mobile network providers to install boosters in our area to improve on communication.

"It's a quite a big challenge to contact an ambulance from Beitbridge in the event of disaster as we rely on foreign networks, which are quite expensive and unreliable in terms of coverage," said Clr Ndou.

Some villagers in Limpopo are forced to walk long distances in search of medical attention at Shashe Clinic, situated about 20km away.

Maramani ward is situated 120km west of Beitbridge town and the area lies along the country's borders with Botswana and South Africa.

Due to its proximity to Greater Mapungubwe Trans-frontier Conservation Area, a vast safari land jointly shared by Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, villagers have not been spared either by stray elephants which continue to destroy their crops.

The jumbos have destroyed crops and canals at Bili and Jalukange irrigation schemes.

At Shashe irrigation scheme, prior to the electrification of the fence, the jumbos had pulled down the fence and destroyed the canals.

Clr Ndou urged the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to electrify Jalukange and Bili irrigation schemes to deter elephants from straying into the fields.

Many farmers have also lost massive crops due to the destruction by the jumbos.

Send in the troops!