Arguably Zambia’s most attractive feature to foreign tourists are our beautiful natural treasures and abundance of exotic wildlife. But if animal populations are not carefully managed, public safety can become a significant concern.
The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) seems to have forgotten its mandate of looking after both wild animals and human beings in the game management areas across the country, posing a potential crisis for future growth and sustainability of Zambia’s tourism industry.
The government agency is now largely focused on the huge volumes of ivory under its custody and the selling of big game hunting licences, which are generally only available to people close to ZAWA officials or other members of government through non-transparent means. Since the PF came into power one year ago, the political undertones at the agency have grown deeper and have had an impact on its operations.
For example, recently a large amount of ivory went missing from the well-secured premises at ZAWA. However the investigation into this theft has not gotten off the ground, as the central figure involved in the matter is a cabinet minister of the ruling party.
Meanwhile residents of Lundazi District in Eastern Province have accused ZAWA of protecting wild animals at the expense of human life. The people of Lundazi feel neglected by ZAWA because wild animals have continued to attack humans without any reasonable action from the authorities, and no attempt to control population and locations of wildlife.
Some village headmen are planning to stage protests against ZAWA because the authority was focused on protecting wild animals rather than protecting human life. In the last seven days, three people have been attacked and killed by wild animals in Southern and Eastern provinces.
A seven-year-old boy of Kanjungwa village in chief Kazembe area in the district was killed and eaten by marauding lions. In this grotesque killing, parents to the deceased boy only recovered a skull, toes, ribs and bones from the scene before burial.
The matter was reported to ZAWA, but again the authority has been unable to eliminate the animals that participated in human kills, which is a standard practice by conservation authorities in Africa. The cadets have hitherto only managed to wound one lion, thereby making it more dangerous.
And a 42-year-old woman of Chunga village in chief Kazembe’s chiefdom in Lundazi is battling for her life at Kazembe Rural Health Centre after she was attacked by lions.
Enelesi Nguni was taking a nap on her veranda before the lions pounced on her. She was left with deep cuts all over the body.
In Livingstone, a 37-year-old man was trampled upon by marauding elephants and residents are concerned that ZAWA’s major focus is selling hunting licences and shooting poachers.
Last week, several people were harassed by ZAWA officers who were arresting people donning ivory bangles. Zambians, especially in Western Province have been wearing bangles for decades, but it is shocking for ZAWA to arrest those wearing ivory bangles. If a law was passed criminalizing this act, then ZAWA should have sensitized the public about the new restriction rather than harassing members of the public.
It is good that ZAWA realized this gaffe and the order was reversed.
ZAWA has always been held in high esteem for the majority of Zambians. But the matters discussed above have a denting effect on its image.
The reputation of ZAWA will soon be like that of the Zambia Police Service, which is largely associated with brutality, unprofessionalism and all the negatives one can imagine.
ZAWA must try to be exemplary in its operations. The authority must shake itself from political influence that is slowly poking its nose into the wildlife business.
It is well known that there is wanton corruption in the buying and selling of whildlife trophies at ZAWA. Millions, if not billions of Kwacha exchange hands for hunting licences at the Chilanga ZAWA offices.
During the 2008 presidential election campaigns, then opposition PF candidate Michael Sata said the tarring of the Chipata-Mfuwe road was only going to benefit animals and not human beings.
Sata said the road was of no economic value to Zambia.
If Sata’s comments are anything to go by now, then it is understood why ZAWA has placed more focus on wild animals than human beings in the game reserves.