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Okavango Delta: locals locked out

patriot by patriot
November 21, 2020
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Okavango Delta: locals locked out
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Ngamiland residents have pleaded for the revised management plan of the Okavango Delta to be centered around developing the social-economic livelihoods of local communities living within and around the area.

It surfaced recently at a consultative kgotla meeting in Maun meant for the reviewing of the 2008 Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP) that the locals continue to be marginalized while foreigners have taken control of Botswana’s prestigious wetland resource. Those living in the delta complain that declaring Okavango Delta as a Ramsar Site and as a World Heritage Site has negatively impacted on their social-economic livelihoods.

Among the aggrieved is a Xaxaba resident, Mokobelang Monnawapula, who revealed that not only are they not allowed to practice fishing and farming, but their movement in the delta is also being restricted. This, he explains, is because of many foreign owned private camps which have been constructed close to their villages and settlements without any consultation. Monnawapula said as a result they are not able to easily access essential necessities such as water and health. The frustrated resident has even suggested for the withdrawal of the delta from being a Ramsar Site since the status according to him only benefits foreigners.

Another tribal elder in Maun, Keith Diako added that it is true that there are locals in the delta who continue to be relocated from their place of residence to pave way for the expansion of wildlife management areas. Diako advised that the management plan of the delta should not destroy the economic livelihood of people who have been living in the area but it should rather explore how the residents can be developed for their livelihoods to fit into the general management plan. “The plan should include the economic lifestyle of people who have been living in the delta, not for people to be stopped practicing farming which has for years been their means for survival,” Diako advised.

Meanwhile other residents believe it is the government system which is failing them and this has consequently led to locals turning into servants of foreigners in their own delta. The residents accuse government through Tawana Land Board for refusing to allocate them land which were owned by their forefathers. They complain that it is however easy and simple for the Board to allocate the same land to foreigners. “We are supposed to be the one owning these prime tourism lands and foreigners seeking to do partnerships with us, but our government is failing to facilitate for this to happen,” a distressed Ditshiping resident, Lekopanye Ngwananoka lamented as he picture how wealthy they would become had that been the case.

He concurred with the former Legislature, Gilson Saleshando who is disturbed by a contradictory study which indicates that despite Ngamiland being rated as the second richest district in the country, the district is also at the same time ranked among the poorest region in Botswana. Saleshando decried that the country’s high-value, low-volume tourism strategy did not benefit any of the local communities in Ngamiland. The idea of the strategy was to develop sustainable tourism while at the same time also maximizing its social-economic benefits.

Another concern that also cropped up at the meeting was exploitation of locals by foreign owned Safari Camps operating in the delta. The locals especially the youth are reportedly subjected to harsh working conditions and long working hours for a monthly pay of as low as P1500.

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  • Killings of journalists up 50% in 2022, half targeted off duty    January 25, 2023
    Eighty-six journalists and media workers were killed around the world in 2022 – one every four days, according to UNESCO data, highlighting the grave risks and vulnerabilities that journalists continue to face in the course of their work.   […]
  • Judge Tau; please don’t stifle public scrutiny of the Court of AppealJanuary 25, 2023
    Her utterances are misplaced and must be condemned with the contempt it deserves ADAM PHETLHE The Patriot on Sunday dated 15 January 2022 carried an article titled ‘Judge Tau defends CoA Integrity’, with sub-headings “Complains of discrediting reckless statements; […]
  • Miss Botswana 2022 is the Face of KGK DiamondsJanuary 19, 2023
    Its been an exciting first week back to her MBW duties and we kick off the year with an official announcement that Our Queen is The face of KGK Diamonds. Lesego Chombo alongside Nigel Amos was the show stopper […]
  • Executives to watch in 2023January 19, 2023
    A year is often too short to demonstrate your worth, yet that’s exactly what the newly appointed Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have to do to show that they deserve their enviable roles. PATRIOT BUSINESS looks at CEOs who shall […]
  • BLP TEST AP/BCP UNITY TALKSJanuary 19, 2023
    BAKANG TIRO editors@thepatriot.co.bw The new entrant in the cooperation talks between Alliance for Progressives (AP) and Botswana Congress Party (BCP) – Botswana Labour Party (BLP) has thrown spanner in the works by demanding that both AP and BCP yield […]
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