The Sunday News
Dumisani Nsingo, Senior Business Reporter
A LOCAL company, Malala Wildlife Private Limited is targeting to set a crocodile farm in Binga District, Matabeleland North Province before the end of the year.
The Bulawayo-based company also manages Chiredzi Crocodile Farm in the Midlands Province, which is home to over 17 000 of the reptiles.
The crocodile farm will be the second alligator breeding sanctuary in the district after Binga Crocodile Farm, which has the capacity to hold over 30 000 crocodiles, slaughtering over 10 000 of the reptiles per year.
Binga Crocodile Farm exports most of its products to Belgium and Singapore while Namibia is its lucrative market for its crocodile meat.
Officials said the project will cover an area of approximately 24 hectares and will fall within the administrative boundary of the Binga Rural District Council (BRDC).
“This project is also in line with meeting the goals of the Millennium Development Goals, as it is going to play a pivotal role in poverty alleviation, mainly through job creation.
“Thus the development of the crocodile farm will improve the standard of living of the people (directly and indirectly) and the Binga community at large,” read part of a report by the company’s environmental consultancy firm, Environmental Guardians Services.
The report noted that water for the project will be obtained from Lake Kariba and would be conveyed through a pipeline.
“Necessary payments regarding tapping water from the lake have already been made to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. In the long run a borehole may be drilled to augment the water supply, with storage tanks put in place to improve water storage capacity.”
The report reads that storm water drainage from the crocodile farm area will be channelled into cut off drains which will be constructed within the project area and then channelled into the nearby waterhole and storm-water drainage systems.
BRDC chief executive officer Mr Joshua Muzamba said the setting up of a second crocodile farm would go a long way towards enhancing economic activity in the district.
It is estimated that Zimbabwe rakes in more than $100 million per year from exporting crocodile meat and skins to countries such as Namibia, Singapore, Belgium, Japan, Australia and the United States of America.
