Govt to set up wildlife university

Runesu Gwidi Herald Correspondent
Government is mulling plans to set up a State-run and fully-fledged university of wildlife management at Mushandike College in Mashava, as part of efforts to boost the country’s tourism and hospitality sector and up its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.

The move is also aimed at priming the tourism and hospitality sector to be a major pillar of Zimbabwe’s economy in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision to make the country an upper middle income economy by 2030.

In a speech read on her behalf by the permanent secretary in her ministry, Mr Munesu Munodawafa, at Mushandike College’s eighth graduation ceremony last Friday, Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira said opening a wildlife management university would help Zimbabwe accrue more benefits from its rich wildlife resource base.

At least 245 graduates were awarded diplomas and certificates in wildlife management.

She said Government wanted to train wildlife management experts capable of extracting benefits from Zimbabwe’s rich and diverse wildlife base to grow the economy.

“Our wildlife conservation mandate cannot be achieved without highly skilled graduates. The new graduates are expected to unlock the value of the tourism sector by translating the knowledge they obtained into tangible marketable products such as wildlife, fisheries and other services,” said Minister Mupfumira.

She underscored the need to deepen research in wildlife species and help the country cope with the damaging effects of climate change caused by global warming.

Poaching also remained a threat to the country’s wildlife hence the need to continuously devise new methods to combat the scourge.

“Climate change, particularly the shifting of weather patterns because of global warming, is also impacting negatively on the lifecycles of our animal species. All these challenges are a wake-up call for more research findings by the nation to mitigate them.”

She said the new political dispensation was calling for heritage-based development to develop the country economically.

“I also challenge this college to take a leading role in contributing to national economic growth through heritage-based projects. We urge you to continuously review your curriculum so that you remain relevant, especially in the field of wildlife conservation and management,” she said.

Mushandike College has since become an associate college of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), through which the Mashava-based college is now offering a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Wildlife and Protected Areas Management.

College principal Mr Dickson Chitupa said the first group of 19 students from Mushandike who proceeded to NUST to further wildlife management studies were expected to graduate this year.

In his address at the ceremony, Masvingo Minister of State Cde Ezra Chadzamira said he was heartened by Mushandike College’s continued growth.

He attributed the institution’s growth to hard work, honesty, creativity and teamwork among staff and students.