http://allafrica.com/stories/201303180708.html


Tanzania: Professional Hunters Lament Disrespect of Job Regulations
By Finnigan Wa Simbeye, 16 March 2013




ALL hunting firms operating in the country should strictly ensure that 50 per cent of their professional hunters are locals as stipulated by law.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism spokesman, George Matiko said this while addressing concerns by local professional hunters that they are sidelined when it comes to private owned hunting firms and that the law is very clear and every employer should respect it.

"The Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 gives priority to local professional hunters. The ministry has no information regarding discrimination of local professional hunters," said Mr Matiko in a recent statement. He, however, defended the charging of the Tourist Agents Licensing Authority (TALA) fee, saying it is a requirement of the law but signalled that something is being done by the ministry.

"However, because there are growing concerns among stakeholders, we are looking into the matter," Matiko said. Members of Simba Professional Hunters Association (SPHA) are complaining about discrimination in employment by foreign owned hunting firms, some allegedly bring on board foreign students who eventually are employed.

"Since the demise of the Tanzania Wildlife Company Limited, Tawico, the number of local professionally trained hunters in employment has declined as there is no place to train and recruit them," said Gervas Michael, a veteran professional hunter.

Lamenting on the weak regulations governing the industry, Mr Michael who is also a SPHA member said the recruitment regulations are outdated. "For example we are now required to pay TALA the same fees like tourist firms in addition to hunting licensing fees annually," argued Michael. Professional hunters pay 200 US dollars as fees to TALA.

Michael also questioned a procedure which requires local hunters to pay for new licences once they get employment within the same year. "We pay 1,000 US dollars as licensing fees per annum, but when one leaves one employer for another one we are required to pay annual fees, all over again why?" wondered the veteran hunter who would like government to introduce a pay as you earn alternative.

Local professional hunters earn between 100 and 200 US dollars per day and often offered short trips of 10 days while their foreign counterparts earn up to 2,000 US dollars a day and often work for a maximum of 21 days in the field. Foreign hunters pay 3,000 US dollars in licence fees and work permits per annum. SPHA Chairman, Hilary Daffi said the problem is not foreign hunting firms but weak regulations which leave a leeway for the exploitation.

"At my company all professional hunters recruited are local, however, we can't blame private companies but rather our own regulations," Mr Daffi said recently. With over 100 local professional hunters who are members of SPHA, the association is overshadowed by the Tanzania Professional Hunters Association (TPHA) which groups together prominent local and foreign professional hunters.

"We need foreign professional hunters just like we need foreign hunting firms to enrich our local industry, but what we are asking for is a level playing field," argued Daffi, who retired from Cotton Gordon Safaris as a professional hunter in 1999. He joined professional hunting in 1988 while working with Tawico.

Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (TAHOA) Executive Secretary, Abdukadir Mohamed dismissed the complaints by the local hunters and accused them of lacking equipment and failing to promote their work among foreign tourists. He said local hunters also lack communication skills. Tanzania has less than 100 professional hunters with almost 50 hunting firms, but regulatory laxity has exposed local to unnecessary bureaucracy and competition.

quote:

Local professional hunters earn between 100 and 200 US dollars per day and often offered short trips of 10 days while their foreign counterparts earn up to 2,000 US dollars a day and often work for a maximum of 21 days in the field.

There is something not quite right with the quoted figures as the rate of USD 2,000 per day would classify a PH as amongst the highest paid workers on the planet.

With a daily fee as quoted, should he put in 5 x 21 = 105 days x 2,000 = USD 210,000 : 12 = USD 17,500 per month = WISHFUL THINKING!

Mr. Simbeye needs to get his facts right before putting pen to paper!

I see that they seem to be very loose with the truth when comparing the payments of PHs.

Yet another example of an African country telling blatant lies (to say the very least) and applying BEE style regulations to the detriment of whites.

Oh well. It ain't gonna change!

quote:

Yet another example of an African country telling blatant lies (to say the very least) and applying BEE style regulations to the detriment of whites.

Oh well. It ain't gonna change!

+1

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Yet another example of an African country telling blatant lies (to say the very least) and applying BEE style regulations to the detriment of whites.

Oh well. It ain't gonna change!

Steve

You don't have to go to africa to meet lying journalists and politicians.
We have plenty of both in Denmark

CF

quote:

Originally posted by Carl Frederik Nagell:

Steve

You don't have to go to africa to meet lying journalists and politicians.
We have plenty of both in Denmark

CF

Ain't that the truth. If I had my way, virtually all journalists, lawyers, politicians and banksters would have a bounty on their heads!

Clearly, this is George Bush's fault.

Really bad journalism in my opinion. I don't think the per-day figure quoted for "local" Tanzanian PH's is far from wrong if they are free-lance and show up with their rifle and their kit. (Not saying that's a bad thing and some are excellant).

The $2,000 a day figure is more representative of a PH/outfitter who has a tent camp, two garis, trackers, a staff, and a rifle and a kit. And did the marketing to get the hunt in the first place as pointed out by one of those interviewed. Nevertheless, it's not just for the services of a professional hunter.

The sad thing is that the journalist (and I use that term lightly) contacted some of us through our association and we had several emails going backwards and forwards addressing and correcting the obvious anomalies - including the PH per diem discrepancy - and yet he still chose to exclude most of it and summarized several pages of factual correspondence into the final paragraph! In TZ one pays to publish the article that delivers the message they want

The concept of service delivery and quality are ignored , we face this every where in Africa where citizens are quick to say they are overlooked or sidelined , never asking the question why. In the PH world you will find quality PH's have their own vehicles trackers and fully equiped rigs , outfitters hire the best they can get, irrespective of nationality.
The truth is that if they are not getting employed they are not offering the outfitter better or equivalent service as outfitters would prefer to hire citizens where ever they can. The world is now a global village and Africa needs to embrace this and grow or forever look for excuses. That aside, we need to remember that our industry is strongly monitored by politicians who can influence the future of hunting and local job creation is critical to the positive growth of hunting in Africa.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Yet another example of an African country telling blatant lies (to say the very least) and applying BEE style regulations to the detriment of whites.

Oh well. It ain't gonna change!

.............................T.I.A.''''''''''''''' (That Is Africa)and Steve is right it ain't gonna change!