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HARARE- Multilateral agencies and conservation groups are refusing to fund the Zimbabwean component of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, one of Africa's most ambitious conversation project, because of the lawlessness of President Robert Mugabe's regime.

Industry sources said the World Bank, the European Union and other conversation groups have refused funding "until things change politically in Zimbabwe."

Without foreign currency reserves of its own, the Zimbabwean government has not been able to spend much money on new infrastructure urgently needed to allow tourists to visit the Zimbabwean sector of the park.

The government was eager to boost tourist inflows during the 2010 World Cup showcase by promoting the Zimbabwe component of the park.

The park is to straddle three international borders, uniting game areas in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe into one seamless reserve through which tourists would move without passport requirements. At 13,500 square miles, the park is billed as the second biggest transfrontier park in Africa and potentially one of the continent's richest wildlife areas. But while work is proceeding apace on uniting the South African component, the Kruger Park, and the Mozambican element, an old hunting concession called Coutada 16, Zimbabwe has been left behind.
"The problem is the funding, because Zimbabwe has no money of its own and the foreign funders refuse to give any backing because of what is going on there," said Prof Willem van Riet, one of the park's main backers.

Under the Mugabe regime there has been a surge in wildlife poaching and the country's Gonarezhou national park, which was to have been its contribution to the new game reserve, has been partly invaded by illegal squatters.

Industry officials say Zimbabwe's de facto expulsion from the project represents an embarrassment for Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who has sought to present the park as a good example of co-operation between African nations.

The Zimbabwean was told that road network on the South African side is very extensive in the Kruger Park but millions of pounds will be needed to create similar infrastructure in Mozambique. The German government has provided around £9 million for the project as long as it is spent in South Africa and Mozambique and not Zimbabwe.

Two shipments of animals from the Kruger Park have already been relocated to the Mozambican sector, which has very few animals because of years of civil war, hunting and poaching. Ten out of 29 elephants moved to Mozambique did not like their new surroundings, however, and trekked for more than 100 miles back to the South African sector, according to Van Riet.

Zimbabwe Council for Tourism CEO Paul Matamisa said there was a need for a separate budget from line ministries to cater for the transfrontier park if Zimbabwe is to get any spin-offs from the World Cup set to be hosted by South Africa in 2010.
"Zimbabwe is basically being left behind because of what is going on there at the political level," a senior conservation source said. "It is a great pity but until things change politically Zimbabwe will not be involved in the project."

Labels: gonarezhou, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

GOVERNMENT has set aside Z$10.4 billion (around US$40M) for the completion of various tourism infrastructure projects in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park for the 2007 fiscal year, an amount players in the sector say falls short of their expectations.

The Park, which is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries on the continent, is expected to boost tourist arrivals in the country and the region.

Analysts say the money, although welcome, still falls short of the project's requirements given the magnitude of work that needs completing.

"The country needs to move into the Gonarezhou Park with speed so that we do not lose out in the race to grab our tourist share from the project. Given that the target is 2010 (when adjacent South Africa expects an influx of tourists as it hosts the Football World Cup) we had thought the Government would advance a huge chunk to the project so as expedite infrastructure development in the area," said one analyst.

Zimbabwe Council of Tourism president Mr Paul Matamisa echoed the same sentiments saying the industry had bargained for more from the fiscus but what they had been offered was far below what was needed to complete different projects.

"The amount though welcome falls short of what we had bargained for and this is likely to severely cripple our plans. In fact, we had requested the Ministry of Finance for the expeditious creation of the Tourism Development Fund that was mooted earlier this year.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing tangible at the moment and what we got are statements of intend but this does not augur well for the sector. Other countries in the project are actually leaving us behind as we for the Government to unlock the funds," he said.

He said the industry had a lot of potential to jumpstart the economy and the country needed to be serious about investing in the sector.

"As the tourism industry we will continue to knock and cry for recognition as time is fast running out," Mr Matamisa.

Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the money was a clear indication that the country was taking the tourism sector seriously although they could have bargained for more.

"The tourism sector which contributes immensely to the country's foreign currency earnings needs to be prioritised. Enough funds should be set aside to promote the development of the sector," he said.

The money set aside is part of Government initiatives aimed at helping the tourism industry to rehabilitate tourism facilities as well as ensuring sustainable energy supplies in the potential foreign currency-spinning sector.

Presenting the 2007 national budget the Minister of Finance Dr Murerwa said the Z$10.4 billion was meant to develop tourism infrastructure in the Gonarezhou Park.

Last year the Government allotted Z$2 billion (revalued) for the improvement of infrastructure and electrification of some projects in the Gonarezhou Park which forms part of the GLTP.

At the same time the Zimbabwe National Army started the de-mining of the Sengwe Corridor (which connects Gonarezhou to Kruger), while plans are underway to upgrade Buffalo Range Airport in Chiredzi to meet international standards.

Labels: great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, national park, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

South Africa deported a total of 34,979 Zimbabweans through Beitbridge Border Post during the first half of the year, police said yesterday.

The figure is a jump from last year’s figure of 32,356 during the same period last year.

Matabeleland South police spokesman, Assistant Inspector Trust Ndlovu, said the highest number of deportees was recorded in January.

“We recorded the highest number of deportees in January, when there were 9,100 cases, an increase of 2,652 compared to January last year,” Asst Insp Ndlovu said.

A number of Zimbabweans who were rounded up in South Africa during the festive season were detained at Lindela Detention Centre near Johannesburg among other places.

A majority of them were eventually released in January and subsequently deported back into the country through Beitbridge.

Last month saw the least number of deportees— 2,330— a drop from June last year’s 5,680.

Asst Insp Ndlovu said despite regular joint police patrols with their South African counterparts, border jumpers continued to cross into the neighbouring country.

“We continue to conduct patrols along the Limpopo River in conjunction with our South African counterparts and you will find that although these operations yield results, we still cannot completely stop border jumping because it is difficult to control. However, we are doing our level best as far as curbing border jumping is concerned,” Asst Insp Ndlovu said.

Unlike in the past where they were sent through the Beitbridge Police Station, border jumpers are now deported at the International Organisation for Migration Support Centre in Beitbridge.

At the centre they are offered food, shelter and transport to go to their respective homes.

On being deported, a majority of the deportees quickly find their way back into South Africa through undesignated entry points along the crocodile infested Limpopo River.

In the whole of last year about 50,000 Zimbabweans were deported through Beitbridge Border Post.

Labels: immigration, zimbabwe

PRETORIA- A pact for a new transfrontier game park straddling the borders between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe was signed on Thursday.

The environment ministers of the three countries endorsed the agreement in Botswana on the dry bed of the Shashe River.

Once proclaimed, the Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) will cover 4,872 square kilometres, almost a quarter the size of the Kruger National Park.

Centred on the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, where the borders of the three states meet, the area is well known for its rich cultural heritage and prolific wildlife.

It includes South Africa's renowned Mapungubwe archaeological site, where excavations in the 1930s uncovered a royal graveyard, including numerous golden artefacts.

Chief among these is a one-horned golden rhinoceros, made of carved wood covered with gold foil. The sculpture was produced by a powerful Iron Age civilisation that established itself on and around the flat-topped sandstone hill about a thousand years ago.

The African people who lived there, from about 1000AD to 1300AD, exchanged ivory and gold with East African traders for glass beads from places as far away as India and Egypt.

Thousands of such beads have been found in the ruins and graves at Mapungubwe, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2003.

The transfrontier area also contains a large number of elephants, as well as viable populations of lion, leopard and cheetah.

Thursday's signing ceremony included South Africa's Minister of Environment Marthinus van Schalkwyk and his Botswana and Zimbabwean counterparts Kitso Mokaila and Francis Nhema.

Van Schalkwyk said the Limpopo-Shashe TFCA was set to become a "big five" park.

"We will bring in large numbers of the big five [elephants, rhino, lions, buffalo and leopard]. We will play our role in stocking the area with what is needed," he said.

According to a fact sheet handed to journalists at the ceremony, there are close to 2,000 elephants within the TFCA, mostly in Botswana.

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism described the proposed TFCA- just over half of which is located in South Africa- as a "complex mosaic of landowners".

It includes, in South Africa, privately owned land as well as land owned by the state and the South African National Parks.

On the Botswana side, the park would include privately owned land, the northern Tuli Game Reserve and cattle and game ranches. The Zimbabwean part would include a mix of communal lands, privately owned stock and game farms, and a government-owned safari area.

Mokaila said the establishment of the TFCA would enhance socio-economic development in the area.

He also jokingly alluded to his country's massive elephant population- estimated at 151,000- saying while South Africa had most of the biodiversity in the region, Botswana had the biomass.

Labels: botswana, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

Government should prioritise funding of the Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park project and ensure the country derives maximum benefit since a lot still needs to be done in terms of infrastructural development.

Chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines, Energy, Environment and Tourism Mr Gabbuza Joel Gabbuza told the House of Assembly yesterday that the country was lagging behind in the giant project that was set to boost the tourism industry. Mr Gabbuza, who is the member of the House of Assembly for Binga (MDC), was presenting the committee's report on the developments in Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park and the impact of gold panning on the environment in the Midlands.

The transfrontier park, is made up of Gonarezhou National Park, Kruger National Park of South Africa and Gaza National Park of Mozambique.

Mr Gabbuza said little progress had been made in the Gonarezhou National Park, as a lot of infrastructure such as roads needed to be put in place. "The Gonarezhou National Park should be prioritised in terms of funding. There is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be repaired such as roads, the aerodrome, lodges and bridges," he said.

The lawmaker said in view of the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe should capitalise on the games by putting essential infrastructure that would bolster the tourism industry. He said land must be identified for resettling the Chitsa people who were still living in the park.

Labels: great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, mozambique, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

The world's biggest wildlife sanctuary, the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, got a boost yesterday when Zimbabwe decided to build a border post to facilitate passage between Gonarezhou National Park and South Africa's Kruger National Park.

In an interview yesterday, Chief Immigration Officer, Mr Elasto Mugwadi said Zimbabwe had finally chosen a site in Chitulipasi, east of Beitbridge, to construct a border post.

"A team from the Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development Ministry are currently surveying and clearing the place before construction begins as soon as possible," Mr Mugwadi said.

He said, so far the Government has injected $5 billion into the project that seeks to see the full operation of Southern Africa's first mega park.

The opening of the Giriyondo Border Post linking South Africa and Mozambique's components of the park is expected soon.

Environment and Tourism Minister, Cde Francis Nhema yesterday welcomed the move saying it was good to note that a consensus had finally been reached on the actual positioning of the border post.

"The opening of the border post will boost Zimbabwe's tourism by facilitating linkages and entry into the mega park. We hope other consultations will be conducted on possibilities for another border post to directly link our tourists with Mozambique's Limpopo National Park," Cde Nhema said.

He said the development of the mega park is being done in phases and soon the three countries will converge to open the Giriyondo border post. Zimbabwe claims to need more than Z$2 trillion to develop the whole of its side of the mega park, Gonarezhou in

Cde Nhema said logistics to have a bridge linking Zimbabwe and South Africa are also at an advanced stage.

The development of the mega park is of great interest to Zimbabwe, which has embarked on awareness campaigns meant to lure stakeholders to invest in Gonarezhou National Park and urgently upgrade it.

Read more about the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park here.

Labels: giriyondo, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, transfrontier park, zimbabwe

HARARE- An anthrax outbreak has killed 1500 animals, mostly kudus, in two conservation areas next to one of Zimbabwe's largest game parks, the director of veterinary services said today.

"It's the first time for Zimbabwe to have had a major anthrax outbreak in wildlife areas," Stuart Hargreaves, the director of livestock and veterinary services, said in an interview with Associated French Press.

The outbreak was detected three weeks ago in Malalangwe and Save conservation areas situated near the south-eastern Gonarezhou National Park.

"In both these areas about 1,500 animals have died," said Mr Hargreaves.

"About 80 per cent of the animals that have died are kudus and the others are buffaloes and antelopes," he said.

Gonarezhou Park is part of the 95,000sqkm Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park which brings together part of the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

Mr Hargreaves said government and other wildlife agencies had moved in fast to control the outbreak by vaccinating at least 700 endangered rhinos and buffaloes, and disposing of the dead animals.

Of the 1,500 animals that were killed, 1,400 carcasses have been incinerated to prevent lions, hyenas and vultures from eating the dead animals.

"This is the reason the disease is diminishing," he said.

He expressed concern that the disease might spread to Gonarezhou.

"It could well spread to Gonarezhou because it is right next door, (but) we don't want the disease to spread and we are trying our best to control it," he said.

He suspects the disease could have entered wildlife through cattle and vultures.

An anthrax outbreak forced the closure of most of Botswana's Chobe National Park after close to 200 buffaloes, elephants and a hippo died. The outbreak has also spread to Namibia.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by spore-forming bacteria which can survive in the ground for a long time.

Symptoms include skin infections that can develop into ulcers or swelling of lymph glands, breathing problems, vomiting and fever.

Labels: anthrax, disease, zimbabwe

The situation in Zimbabwe has demonstrated for the southern Africa region that if land issues are handled poorly, conflict of one kind or another is almost inevitable, a report by the International Crisis Group has warned.

The ICG, an independent organisation, said that there would have to be an increase in political will to tackle land reform in South Africa. The inequality of land ownership and the historical injustices are considered the worst in Africa, with three quarters of agricultural land still in the hands of 60,000 white farmers.

The President of the ICG, Gareth Evans, former Australian foreign minister, said it was unlikely that South Africa would replicate the Zimbabwean land crisis but warned that 'countries across the region are burdened with chronic land problems that are frustrating attempts to promote economic development and eradicate poverty.'

The report recognised that post apartheid South Africa had undertaken substantial land reform but to reach its target of redistributing 30% of agricultural land into black hands by 2015 required a major effort on the part of government, donors and NGOs. So far only 3% of rural land had been transferred to black people since 1994 and only one half of a percent of the budget had been devoted to land reform.

"The land issue remains politically explosive, not least because levels of land dispossession over the last century and a half rival those anywhere in the world. Land expropriation was the central tool of social control and economic subjugation," the report said.

The report, entitled Blood and Soil states that in South Africa "violence on farms and in rural areas remains unacceptably high," and the ANC government is not adequately addressing what could become a political time bomb if land redistribution is not urgently tackled.

The report recommends a number of steps that should be taken to improve South Africa's land distribution programme, including the formation of partnerships, encouragement of innovation, support of land reform beneficiaries with HIV/AIDS, improvement on reform planning, and holding a southern Africa land summit.

The ICG warns South Africa "that violence fuelled by inequality and unfulfilled expectations could become a much larger factor in its future, as the emotive issue of land becomes linked to dissatisfaction over the country's basic ills: unemployment and poverty." This, the ICG claims will become a major issue in the 2009 elections.

The full ICG report can be read at the International Crisis Group's website.

Labels: land claims, land reform, restitution, zimbabwe