Villagers, safari operators in boundary dispute

Sunday News Reporter
(From the Bulawayo Sunday News, Nov. 5th)


VILLAGERS in the Mbizha area of Hwange are embroiled in a dispute with safari operators they accuse of violating the boundary separating the communal area and the safari zone, it has been learnt.
Tensions rose after professional hunters shot a crocodile at a dam allegedly belonging to the community two months ago.
Speaking in an interview with the Sunday News on Tuesday, the local councillor, Mr Edson Muleya, said some safari operators have been spotted on numerous occasions hunting outside their area of jurisdiction. He said they encroached onto the land belonging to communal farmers and engaged in poaching.
The latest case of alleged poaching happened in September when the safari operators’ clients were seen shooting a crocodile at Gandwa IyabaNambya Dam.
The community and the safari operators are both claiming ownership of the crocodile-infested dam. There is also a sizeable number of hippopotamuses. The dam is a source of water for livestock coming from Sisiyatu and Milonga.
“Villagers are fuming over the safari operators’ audacity of encroaching and conducting some hunts in their area. The hunting of a crocodile at the dam without the people’s consent and without them benefiting from the proceedings incensed the villagers.
“The community has been using the dam since time immemorial when the previous white farmer was still occupying the farm which is now being run by the current safari operators,†said Councillor Muleya.
He said villagers expressed discontent over the safari operators’ conduct of reaping where they “never sowed†and insisted that the operator is possibly raking in millions of dollars through poaching from the dam and other surrounding areas belonging to the community.
The safari operators at the centre of the controversy are newly resettled farmers who benefited from the Government’s land reform programme.
“We (villagers) fear that the operators will rake in millions of dollars through these illegal hunts at the community dam. To make matters worse, we fear that if the boundary issue is not addressed as a matter of urgency, the safari operators will hunt the hippopotamuses and even reap more from the proceeds without us (villagers) getting a single penny,†said Cllr Muleya.
Villagers are demanding the proceeds from the killing of the crocodile at the dam and the matter has already been reported to Hwange Rural Council, which is yet to respond.
“People are now demanding the money which was paid to the operators by their clients who shot the crocodile. We have, however, reported the matter to council but nothing has been done to date and we are still awaiting for them to come and solve this impasse,†said Cllr Muleya.
Commenting on the dispute between the villagers and the safari operators, Hwange council chief executive officer, Mr Ananias Banda, said his office is looking into the issue.
“I can confirm that we received such a report but at the present moment we are yet to get to the ground to ascertain the problem in that area. We as council are not fully aware whether the dam at the centre of controversy is within the boundary of the communal area or that of the safari operators. The boundaries might have been shifted during the land reform programme. The best people that are quite aware of boundaries are those from AREX and the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement,†said Mr Banda.
Comment could not be obtained from the Agricultural Research and Extension services department (AREX) and the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement.

"We (villagers) fear that the operators will rake in millions of dollars..."

Ah, unles that's in Zim dollars it must have been one BIG croc!

So who is the safari operator or outfitter?