Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday called for greater involvement of the population of Limpopo district, in the southern province of Gaza, in protecting biodiversity, by denouncing poaching and illegal logging.
He was speaking during the inauguration of the Limpopo district court, which is part of the Presidential initiative to ensure that every district has at least one decent courtroom.
Nyusi stressed that people should not be lured into expecting to receive money from the decimation of wildlife. “You are in an area flanked by South Africa and Zimbabwe”, he said. “On the other side of the Limpopo, there are many animals: elephants, lions, rhinos, and zebras. There are those who like to kill, but you don’t get rich by killing lions”.
“People are deceived to get into this kind of crime”, the president said, adding that “you can’t stop farming to live by poaching. You can’t live by killing animals.”
For the president, it is urgent that we know how to deal with biodiversity, because “we are dependent on animals, water and trees.”
Nyusi took the opportunity to welcome the training of magistrates in the area of biodiversity protection, because they “deal with crimes against biodiversity, crimes that harm the environment.”
The president’s appeal comes at a time when a number of poachers have been subjected to heavy sentences. Last month, for example, the Maputo provincial court sentenced two citizens of Mozambican nationality to 30 years of imprisonment, for poaching, illegal possession of firearms and criminal conspiracy.
The president also called for reducing the number of traffic accidents that have claimed lives along the country’s main north-south highway (EN1).
“People should not travel with their hearts in their hands, not knowing if they will reach their destination”, Nyusi said. “There is no reason to be in such a hurry on the roads. If someone wants to reach a certain place on time, they should leave early. High speed is not the solution.”
Nyusi also attacked the illicit practice by artisanal fishermen of using mosquito nets for fishing.
“The nets should be distributed among the population so that no one dies from mosquito bites. It makes no sense to use the net for fishing. The net is for protection against mosquitoes”.
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