Troublesome jumbos put down

From Dumisani Sibanda in Lupane

Bulawayo Chronicle

THREE elephants which were wreaking havoc in the Gundwane Forestry Area in Lupane, destroying crops in the process, were put down by rangers from the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority at the weekend, an official said.

This was revealed by the Kusile Rural District Council chief executive officer, Mr Mhlaseli Mpofu, during a full council meeting in Lupane on Tuesday.
“The elephants are a problem. They usually come in April when the villagers would have started harvesting. They destroy crops but luckily we have not heard any reports of injuries or human fatalities,†he said.
“We received reports last week that the elephants were causing problems in the Gundwane, Lupanda and Mbembesi areas and there was nothing we could do as these are forestry areas which are under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Commission, although there are human settlements in those areas.â€
Mr Mpofu said three elephants were killed by rangers on Saturday.
He said the problem of elephants was now perennial.
Lupane is near the Hwange National Park, which is home to thousands of jumbos.
“We are not allowed to act when the elephants invade a forestry area. In fact, the Forestry Commission says there is nothing wrong with the elephants roaming forestry areas as this should be their habitat. They say it is the people who are not supposed to be in these areas who are a problem,†Mr Mpofu said.
“Last year, we shot and killed an elephant that had killed a person and the Forestry Commission came and took away the meat and the tusks. Our Campfire (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) officer was in hot soup over the issue.â€
He said the local authority was still waiting to be allocated its quota for this year by wildlife authorities.
Mr Mpofu said even in areas under the local authority, controlling problem animals as part of CAMPFIRE was proving difficult.
“We had engaged a professional hunter, Inyathi Safaris, but that hunter has not done much. The hunter has cited problems like shortage of fuel. As a result we have stopped that hunter from operating,†Mr Mpofu said.
“We had a similar problem with a concessionaire whom we gave timber logging rights in the PupuManansa concession areas – Asmara Company – it has been ordered to stop harvesting timber until it pays $90 million it owes council in unpaid royalties.â€
The concessionaire had been given up to yesterday (Wednesday) to pay up or risk having the timber logging contract cancelled.
However, contributing to debate on the matter, former Lupane Member of Parliament, Cde Martin Khumalo, was of the view that cancellation of the contract would adversely affect council’s cash flow situation.

"Have Gun, Will Travel," reads the card of a man....

African "justice" and reason is better than the best comedy, written or spoken.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:

THREE elephants which were wreaking havoc in the Gundwane Forestry Area in Lupane, destroying crops in the process, were put down by rangers from the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority at the weekend, an official said.

...

“We received reports last week that the elephants were causing problems in the Gundwane, Lupanda and Mbembesi areas and there was nothing we could do as these are forestry areas which are under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Commission, although there are human settlements in those areas.â€

...

“We are not allowed to act when the elephants invade a forestry area. In fact, the Forestry Commission says there is nothing wrong with the elephants roaming forestry areas as this should be their habitat. They say it is the people who are not supposed to be in these areas who are a problem,†Mr Mpofu said.

No kidding, illegal human habitation in elephant areas and the elephants destroy their crops!