Gov’t castigated for loving animals more than people

The decision by the Wildlife Department to not compensate people injured by wild animals does not sit well with a lot of Members of Parliament (MPs). Paulson Majaha, MP for Nata-Gweta has criticised government’s refusal to compensate people who get injured by wild animals while compensating those who lose their crops and domestic animals to wildlife.

His sentiments follow hard on the heels of a recent incident in which a man was viciously attacked by an angry buffalo and in the process lost his eye, broke his leg and got brutally injured in the rib and chest area. The man is still fighting for his dear life in Francistown’s biggest hospital Nyangabgwe after the beast left him half dead.

Majaha explained in an interview that he is not happy as it seems government does not value the lives of people to the extent that it does not see the need to compensate them when they are maimed by wild beasts. “This is an issue of concern because some die in the process and nothing is done to at least give something to their spouses or children,” stressed the MP.

He said that the issue places government on the spotlight. He finds it unfair that those who accuse government for the neglect get accused of being subjective and harbouring the intention of bringing government down.
Majaha revealed that in the recent years, a policy intended to help human victims of wild animals was mooted. “Tshekedi Khama had promised to raise the matter in parliament but no one has heard of it since then,” Majaha charged.

He also said that he took Khama to Sepako to see how animals are terrorising the villagers when in search of water and how the lives of people are in danger while there is still no law in place to protect them. “Now someone has been injured and there is nothing that can be done to help him and his family. These people are farmers, how is he going to live without an eye or a leg when his life is sustained by farming?” he asked.

The MP said that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have donated money which he proposed should be used to drill boreholes in the wild to prevent animals from interfering with people in the villages and surrounding areas. Sadly, he said that his suggestion fell on deaf ears.

When responding to a questionaire with this publication, the Minister of Wildlife and Tourism Tshekedi Khama agreed that indeed a policy was drafted sometime ago. “The problem we have is that the vote of compensation is small. At the end of the year we take money from projects which we cannot finish and use it to compensate people who have lost their livestock,” he said. MP for Francistown East, Buti Billy shares Majaha’s sentiments.

He finds it strange for a government to fail to compensate people who are injured or killed by wild animals. In his view, if people are not compensated then their rights are being trampled upon. According to him, the hunting ban should be revisited because wild animals are increasing especially dangerous ones. He also raised concern that even the compensation for people whose fields have been destroyed by these animals is too low. “There is no fencing which prevents animals from coming to the people because people will not go to them,” said Billy.

Dithapelo Keorapetse, MP for Selebi Phikwe said that animals are given priority over people. He said that, for example, there is a buffalo fence which the Wildlife Department has built somewhere in the Ngami areas to deter animals from attacking people, but the efforts are still failing as elephants destroy the fence and find their way to the villages in search for water. He also raised concern that if domestic animals cross over the fence and get eaten by wild animals there are no complaints and people are often castigated for being careless with their livestock but when they kill these animals to defend their livestock, they are arrested.

Keorapetse said that many people are not aware that they can sue government in cases where animals have victimised them. “The Wildlife Department should invest in insurances so that it can compensate people who have lost their property or even their lives,” suggested the MP. He also advised that the co-existence of people and animals should be managed.

Minister Khama confirmed that there is no compensation for people who lose their lives or get injured by animals. “If an animal has killed someone we do help with some of the funeral expenses, such as tents,” said Khama. “I hope that in the next financial year the policy of compensation will see the light of day,” he stressed.