adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
MANGWE Rural District Council has introduced a wildlife conservancy programme as it moves towards turning the district into a tourism destination. The local authority’s council chairperson, Roland Mafesi Ncube, said the council was scouting for funding to set up a game boundary and other tourist facilities. He said the project would generate income for farmers within the area and the local authority.
Ncube said farmers within the area were struggling to realise profits through crop and livestock farming.
“If farmers are not making profits then it means that as a local authority we get nothing from unit tax. We have a lot of wildlife within the district but we are not realising any benefits from them.
“Poachers are the only people who are benefiting as they are killing these animals without repercussions. This project will help us to manage these animals properly and ensure that the community benefits from them,” he said.
Ncube said the district had four large dams which were frequented by animals that would be turned into tourist attractions.
He said under the plan for the project camping grounds would be set around the dams.
Ncube said the resources within the district had not been fully exploited.
“At the moment we have general dealers that are operating in the area and a few miners. This is the only revenue that we are getting. There are several other opportunities which we can unearth and have more people investing in the district.
“Within the next two years we hope to have finished the construction of our tourism sites and rounding up all the animals to be in one area. By that time we hope to have marketed the district as a tourist destination internationally,” said Ncube.
He said a meeting was held with farmers from the area and a conservancy committee was formed.
Ncube said farmers within the area who depended on livestock and crop farming for a living were not realising the expected benefits from these activities.
He said the farmers were selling their products at ridiculously low prices as they did not have access to proper markets.
The council chairperson said venturing into wildlife related projects would assist farmers realise money that would help them develop their farms and communities.
Ncube revealed that the local authority urgently needed to improve its revenue collection system as it was struggling to service its debts.
He said some of the organisations they owe were about to take legal action against the council.
“We have not been receiving good rains for some time. It is high time farmers stopped relying solely on farming for income as that has not been going well.
“Our region is rich in terms of wildlife and it is high time that farmers exploited this resource by venturing into wildlife farming,” he said.
Online Reporter