Africa-Press – Botswana. Kokong residents have called for fresh consultations on the SO2 Wildlife Management Area following the collapse of engagement between the government and the communities.
Speaking at a kgotla meeting addressed by the Member of Parliament for Jwaneng/Mabutsane Mr Omphemetse Kwapa yesterday, Kgosi Kemolatoletswe Moalafi called for extensive consultations that would ultimately put the matter to rest. He said the issue was a long standing one dating back many years and it therefore was high time it got concluded.
“We have been talking about this issue for a long time now and the government has failed us. We would like to have a meeting with the President because we understand that the area has been demarcated for ranches, something which we are totally against. There is no way we can agree with the decision to allocate ranches there when we do not have grazing land,” he said.
Kgosi Moalafi asked government to move swiftly to address the issue without disadvantaging communities bordering the SO2.
The chairperson of Mekgatshi Conservation Trust, Mr Samuel Rapulane, said they opposed the suggestion to allocate ranches in the area considering the broader benefit. He noted that the diverse natural resources in the SO2 area benefitted 11 villages in its surrounding.
“We are strongly against the government allocating ranches in that area because it has a lot of potential benefits to the various communities in the surrounding. The assessment is biased towards individual interests as compared to the broader benefits to the residents in these villages,” he noted.
The matter has been referred to Cabinet for further action following consultations with the affected communities, according to Mabutsane sub landboard chairperson Mr Kegomoditswe Mosupi. He noted that the landboard did not have powers to decide on the issue but could only act on the decision made by Cabinet.
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