By:Fransina Nghidengwa
The Minister Of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Pohamba Shifeta says that no cattle is allowed in the Bwabwata National Park due to livestock disease.
According to Minister Shifeta, the presence of cattle constitutes a threat to the spreading of lung sickness to the Zambezi region and from Botswana and foot and mouth disease (FMD) to the Kavango East region on the west and beyond.
Shifeta further said that all national parks are established following the law adding that calls to de-proclaim the area have been met with rejection by the government because of economic reasons.
In November 2021, the Hambukushu Traditional Authority submitted a petition to the National Assembly in which they called on the government to implement tourism development in the Mahango core area, allocate farming units within the Bwabwata area, and that further consultations with the traditional authority on the management of the park be held.
The Hambukushu community further condemned the 2007 proclamation of Bwabwata National Park, noting that it was illegal and needs to be revisited.
Shifeta noted that the national park is a protected area that is prone to foot and mouth disease and that allocating farming units in the park would be detrimental to animal disease control and would result in devastating consequences on the local economy.
The Minister said that while no consultations have been held with the Hambukushu Traditional Authority, the communities living along the national park have also benefited from tourism concessions as part of government efforts to bring development to the people in the area.
“The Ministry does not want the community to graze there for economic reasons and to protect the big industry because the Bwabwata National Park stretches down to the east up to Divunduwhich is an infected area of the foot and mouth disease and cattle that happen to be there are declared as disease not free,” he said.
Shifeta further said the Ministry has also established the Bwabwata National Committee headed by an official of the Ministry, aimed at discussing issues of development and benefits in the area.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs has since held several consultations and public hearings with different stakeholders.
On Thursday, the committee inquired whether thorough consultations was held with the Hambukushu Traditional Authority and questioned the authenticity of a report compiled by a technical committee on the matter by three Ministries: Urban and Rural Development; Environment, Forestry and Tourism; and Agriculture, Water and Land Reform.
Furthermore, the committee also requested that the Ministry share with them information about the management of the national park, including the communal land from their perspective.
The committee is expected to prepare a report to be tabled in the National Assembly for discussions and consideration.