Elephants cause havoc in Bulilima

Plumtree Correspondent
PUPILS   in  some   parts   of   Ward   16   in  Bulilima district   have   not   been   attending   school   for   more   than   a   week   because   of   the   heavy   presence   of elephants. Villagers from Dombolefu area told Chronicle yesterday that it was now dangerous for their children to travel to school because of the elephants that were roaming near their homesteads.

“The elephants are passing close to our homesteads more frequently now,” said a local villager, Mrs Sikhangele Sibanda.

“At first we would see them in the bush, but they have moved closer to our homes. My children attend school at Mathambo Primary and the route they use passes through the bush. Ever since they told me they met the animals two weeks ago it is now dangerous for them to go to school.”

Another villager, Mr Mbuso Mkandla said the environment had become dangerous for the children as they relied on bushy paths to get to school.
“Whenever I see the elephants passing by I ensure that my children do not attend school the following day unless I am certain they are far away.

“It is dangerous to allow either a grade one or two pupil to walk out of the home when you know they will come across the elephants,” said Mr Mkandla.

The former councillor for the area, Mr Morgan Ndebele said the community was worried about the presence of  elephants.
“More than 100 elephants have been roaming in our area of late and they are getting close to the homesteads,” said Mr Ndebele.

“Recently I was in village 22 and 26 where they were seen about 100 metres away from the homesteads making their way to the dam.”
Mr Ndebele said the elephants were mostly frequenting three villages where the dams are situated.

“In most cases the elephants are seen in village 18, 26 and 27 because those are the villages where they are dams.  They have not attacked anyone but we fear soon they will,” he said.

Mr Ndebele said there was a need for the local authority to address the situation before it got out of hand.
Bulilima chief executive officer, Mr John Brown Ncube said recently that they were worried about the presence of elephants in the villages.
He said the local authority was facing a challenge of limited resources to solve the issue.