- – Warns local and foreign elites manipulate community trusts for personal gain.
- – This interference undermines the core objectives of the CBNRM programme.
- – Elites dominate trust boards to control critical decision-making processes.
- – Boards overstep operational roles, leaving millions of pula unaccounted for in audits.
- – Community trusts must strengthen governance to restore transparency and accountability.
The ministry of environment and tourism has raised concerns over the elite capture of Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), warning that local and foreign powerholders are manipulating trusts to benefit a privileged few: compromising the intended goals of the Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) programme.
Speaking at a forum in Maun, CBNRM Director Kealeboga Kemoreile and North West District Commissioner Thabang Waloka cited poor governance, financial mismanagement, and business skill gaps as critical threats to the programme’s goals. Officials highlighted that boards frequently overstep their roles into staff duties, leaving millions of pula in trust funds unaccounted for during financial audits.
The forum was aimed to discuss challenges and opportunities faced by the programme, as well as to develop strategies to strengthen community-led natural resource management.
Kemoreile revealed that this capture is orchestrated not only by foreigners but also by certain local powerholders who use their status to exert influence over trust operations. He indicated that the capture is sometimes driven by community members at the forefront of the CBOs, while in other instances, it is directed from behind the scenes.
When captured, CBOs are manipulated to benefit a privileged few instead of serving the broader community. This occurs as elites often control the boards, securing an influential voice in decision-making processes.
“This is an issue of concern to us because if we don’t counter it, it will disrupt our programme going forward,” the director cautioned.
Kemoreile indicated that they continue to witness this happening among community trusts. However, he assured that they are exploring several approaches to mitigate the risk of elite capture.
The director stated that they have also realized lawyers are technically running some CBOs, complaining about several legal tussles within the trusts that could have been resolved amicably.
Furthermore, he expressed concern over a business skills gap among CBOs, which he lamented often results in these organisations entering into disadvantageous deals with Joint Venture Partners (JVPs).
Meanwhile, issues of financial mismanagement, poor governance, accountability, and weak business administration resurfaced during the meeting. Authorities expressed hope that the forum and the approved CBNRM Act will bring resolutions.
North West District Commissioner Thabang Waloka highlighted weak capacity, poor skills development, inadequate product diversification, an inability to link CBNRM benefits to natural resource conservation, and poor governance among the bottlenecks and gaps faced by community trusts.
Waloka revealed plans by his office to sensitize community members across the district on the CBNRM, noting that the majority of trust members do not understand how the programme operates.
“They only listen to what the board tells them, and that on its own is dangerous,” revealed Waloka, who acknowledged that education efforts previously concentrated mostly on boards of trustees while excluding general community members.
Waloka also emphasised the need for community trusts to strengthen governance in order to improve accountability, equality, fairness, transparency, and to reduce corruption.
“If people have used trust funds for personal gain, they should be held accountable. It’s a norm that each and every term is time for another board member to also eat,” stated the district commissioner.
He further complained that “with each audit of trust financials, there is always a phrase that one or two million is unaccounted for, and I think that is deliberate. When an AGM is held and there is no audit, we should hold people to account. Auditing financial reports of years back doesn’t help us.”
He called for the expansion and diversification of CBNRM tourism products, alongside the enhancement and capacitation of skills for both board and community members.
“When we vote for boards of trustees, let’s do so knowing what kind of job these people will do. Vote for those with different expertise such that they complement each other to help us achieve the intended goal of this programme.”
He added that role clarity between boards and staff is also crucial.
“These days it seems boards are taking over the work of staff members. It then appears as if managers have no use despite their expertise, hence millions remain unaccounted for. The board is an overseer checking if communities’ interests are served within a set period by the manager, not performing the tasks themselves.”
