By
Nordick Mokobi
In reply to Nigel Goodman. Sometimes it helps to do your research before making general statements, trophy hunting and just hunting by citizens was temporarily banned in 2014.
A government directive authored by the then permanent secretary Mr Neil Fitt, stated that the reasons was so that the wildlife numbers can recuperate. It was never a permanent ban, now if you do your research well, you will realise that before trophy hunting was banned, there were Community Based Organisations like the
- Sankuyo Tshwaragano Management Trust,
- Khwai Development Trust,
- Mababe Zokotsama Community Trust,
- Okavango Kopano Mokoro Trust,
- Okavango Community Trust
just to name a few, benefited from trophy hunting. The Government only sought accountability of money usage to curb abuse of money by those who had direct access of money within those communities.
This money helped the people of Sankuyo, Khwai, Mababe, Ditshiping, Xaxaba, Xuoxao, Daunara, Boro, Xharaxao, Seronga, Gunotsoga, Eretsha, Beetsha and Gudigwa just to mention a few.
Trophy hunting was not their only source of income of course, but it generated as much as P7,382,097 against the most publicised photographic safari which only brought only P2, 374,077 in 2008. All these monies went to the communities themselves and jobs were created through these trophy huntings.
The hunting ban accounted for 200 job losses and P7 million in revenue that would have otherwise gone directly to community coffers.
This money was used to improve the livelihoods of people by providing funeral insurance for all community members, pension for the elderly, bursaries for the youth, cash to the families and food packages. Therefore with the ban, all these vanished. Unless you have a solution that can be discussed, I will be waiting.
