The Sunday News
Dickson Mangena, Business Reporter
THE erection of the 180-kilometre security boundary for the Shangani Sanctuary Conservancy in Matabeleland South has been stalled over a funding gap of nearly $1 million, an official has said.
In an interview, one of the project managers, Mr Joshua Malinga said the erection of the fence would cost $864 000 and they were now pinning their hopes on an expected loan facility from a regional conservation foundation.
“We have applied for a loan facility from the African Wildlife Foundation and we are waiting for them to come and assess our progress and project altogether, but we have so far received a good response from them after the presentation we sent,” said Mr Malinga.
He said that the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has identified the project as one of the schemes they intended to support.
“Hopefully by October we would have got the feedback as Dr Alistair Pole, a representative of AWF, we have been talking to, would have come to assess our place,” said Malinga.
AWF is a conservation organisation that advances funds and loans to potential conservancies in Africa. It is known for funding the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Malinga said the fence was the major project of the conservancy and once it is finished it would ensure that the animals are protected from poachers and are free to move around the 40 000 hectare enclosure.
“We have a problem of poachers as it is, not a week goes by without a farmer complaining of poachers. The fence will go a long way in protecting the animals from poachers, although we get support from the police in trying to protect the game from poachers,” he said.
He said so far their efforts have already resulted in the erection of the secure fence that covers about 12 kilometres of the boundary.
“We have also constructed four boom gates that control the entry and exit of cars to the sanctuary,” said Malinga.
The Shangani Sanctuary Conservancy is the brainchild of disability activist and politician Mr Malinga and prominent businessman, Mr Jim Ross Goddard. The facility was officially opened by Dr Douglas Mombeshora, the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement in February.
The Shangani Sanctuary is a project where local farmers converted part of their farms into a sanctuary for wildlife.
The farmers are mandated to fence the perimeters around their homesteads and fields so that there will not be problems emanating from wildlife.
As a result farmers live together with wild animals that include zebras, wildebeests, warthogs, monkeys, tsesebe, steenboks, sables, reedbucks, leopards, klipspringers, kudus, jackals, impalas, giraffes, elands, duikers, bush pigs, brown hyenas and baboons among others.
“We have also been offered donations of game animals from a number of well wishers for animals like wildebeests from Debshan Conservancy and we will be having elephants as well because they come seasonally to our areas and once we have better fencing we will keep them in,” said Malinga.
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