Intervene, thwart poaching, police urged

From Noah Pito in Hurungwe

Hurungwe Rural District Council has called on the police to swiftly intervene and thwart poaching that claimed two elephants early this month.

The council believes that rampant gold panning along Angwa River has led to massive poaching after the mushrooming of illegal settlements.

Speaking during a full council meeting held at Magunje Growth Point, HRDC chief executive officer Mr Joram Misheck Moyo lamented the levels of environmental degradation and poaching that have also led to the mushrooming of illegal settlements in Zvipani along the river that snakes down to the Zambezi.

Mr Moyo said Community Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources dividends had drastically fallen due to the illegal settlements, which were harbouring professional panners-cum-poachers.

Hurungwe East has a huge wildlife reserve joining Chewore and Dande safari areas in Guruve and has been the source of income for villagers under Campfire. Mr Moyo said unless police intervened as matter of urgency, the Campfire project faced collapse.

"We are waging two wars here. The first one is against gold panners while the second involves gold panners who are daily forcing some species of game into extinction.

"Campfire dividends have drastically fallen due to massive poaching being perpetrated by these illegal settlers. Council is prepared to do all it can to assist police in their quest to bring order and sanity in the remote area of Zvipani," said Mr Moyo.

Ward 9 Councillor Cde Sodis Mutobvu, under whose ward Zvipani falls, said the area had become a hub of illegal gold panning and poaching following the eviction of illegal panners by police from Sanyati and Chikuti last year.

"The majority of these culprits have their origins in Sanyati and Chikuti where they were evicted late last year by police under Operation Chikorokoza Chapera," said Councillor Mutobvu.

The councillor also said apart from gold panning that had devastated the Angwa River banks, poachers had plunged the Campfire programme into disarray as dividends had fallen sharoly due to a drop in the game population in the area.

"Some poachers are killing animals using lethal chemicals, snares and all sorts of dangerous weapons. Buffalo, kudu and eland are among game species whose meat is being daily taken to Karoi, Chinhoyi and Harare for sale as biltong.

"Two weeks ago two elephants were killed for their tusks. Though the place is inaccessible by vehicles due to its rugged terrain we are prepared to help the police in every way possible," said Cllr Mutobvu.

"Mr Moyo said unless police intervened as matter of urgency, the Campfire project faced collapse."

That's not good.