adminWalter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
LOCAL authorities have come under heavy criticism for mismanaging Communal Areas Management Programmes for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) projects in most rural communities.
Addressing a meeting on the Community based Tourism Enterprises (CBTEs) strategic document consolidation at a hotel in Masvingo on Thursday, Tourism Deputy Minister Annastacia Ndhlovu said sanctions also played a bigger part in the collapse of some campfire projects.
She said the advent of campfire projects in the country brought a lot of promise on community development and preservation of the environment and wildlife but due to mismanagement by local authorities, that is now history.
“We’ve derived the concept of CBTEs from the campfire projects which were managed by the local authorities. However, it’s unfortunate that the projects are now history despite the fact that most of them received heavy financial boost from the donor community.
‘‘The death of such projects can be attributed to mismanagement of resources on the part of rural district councils under which the projects fell although illegal sanctions we received from the Western world at the turn of the millennium played a bigger part,” said Ndhlovu.
She said campfire projects were part of the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty within rural communities through the creation of employment.
The Deputy Minister said the projects meant that villagers had a stake and were involved in conservation initiatives.
She said the objective of campfire projects was to eradicate poverty among rural communities and instil a feeling of ownership of resources.
“Once the villagers are aware that the wildlife in the parks belongs to them and they also benefit, they’ll not destroy or poach.
‘‘The earlier local authorities are conscientised on the need to manage projects that benefit communities efficiently, the better,” Ndhlovu said.
Since 1989, more than 250,000 Zimbabweans have been involved in campfire projects and available information shows that communities’ incomes increased by at least 25 percent as a result.
derick.khumalo