- Maladministration, mismanagement of funds, unending court battles prevalent among trusts
- PS complains about rampant mismanagement of funds within the trusts
- Appeals for help to ensure natural resources benefit communities accordingly
- From 2021 to date, hunting has generated a total of P105 million
- Since 2022 to date, Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) has accumulated about P64 million
- Struggle for governance of trusts like OCT, OKMCT reaches courts while STMT was probed for unaccounted P2 million
Community Based Organisations’ chaotic state of affairs has reached the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Boatametse Modukanele complained about the continued mismanagement of funds that is rampant within the trusts.
The trusts especially those in the northern part of the country are known of infights emanating from maladministration, mismanagement of funds, unending court battles among others, which hinder delivery on the core mandates of the trusts to beneficiaries.
To highlight, the intense struggle for governance of trusts like Okavango Community Trust (OCT) and Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust (OKMCT) have already reached the high court. While in 2024, a probe was instituted into Sankoyo Tshwaragano Management Trust’s over P2 million that was unaccounted for.
Presenting the executive summary of the ministry before the PAC this week, Modukanele complained that though they are realising large amount of money being generated through hunting and community tourism, utilisation of those funds however remains a problem.
“We are having a challenge of people fighting over these funds at a community level. We are therefore appealing for help from other sectors to ensure that these resources benefit communities accordingly.”
According to him, during the 2022 hunting season over P31 million was generated by community trusts. The permanent secretary indicated that the amount has increased over the years as from 2021 to date a total of 105 million pula has been generated.
Modukanele also shared that the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) has accumulated about P64 million since 2022 to date, with the money generated from special elephant quotas. The Fund is meant to empower community projects under the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) programme.
Meanwhile, when reflecting on challenges the ministry’s challenges and achievements, Modukanele indicated that human-wildlife conflict remains a challenge as the reported incidents are increasing all years. He also decried shortage of resources such as vehicles required to combat the problem. “On annual average we have about ten thousand incidents while in terms of budget, we spend between 25-28 million Pula on annual basis.”
The permanent secretary also indicated that they are still grappling with poaching as the levels keeps on fluctuating. “Though we have poaching under control but still the problem demands a lot of resources for us to be able to deal with it.”
Modukanele highlighted that some of the projects that they undertook that period under review is the completion of the 60km non lethal electric game fence in Makgadikgadi. The fence is mainly developed to reduce human wildlife conflict in the area as it blocks wild animals from crossing from Makgadikgadi Pans National Park to human settlements.
That as it may, the permanent secretary had decried budgetary constraints highlighting that during the 2021/2022 financial year, P99 million was reduced from the ministry’s development budget which resulted in 17 projects being deferred because there was no budget to undertake them. He also mentioned that though the ministry’s departments and responsibilities have grown over the years its allocated budget has remained stagnant.
Updating on the “Keeping Game in Masimo” program meant to boost Agro-tourism, Modukanele noted that they are facing a challenge of short supply of species that applicants want especially gemsbok and elands. He however noted that the distribution is usually augmented by donations from Jwaneng and Morupule Coal Mine Game Park.
According to the permanent secretary, during the 2021/22 financial year, 66 applications we approved and 377 animals were distributed noting that the numbers of applications received to date have increased to 522.
