Hlalani Kuhle housing beneficiaries turn to wood poaching

TO many people living in Cowdray Park's Hlalani Kuhle section, Emganwini suburb in Bulawayo and other residential areas in the city, selling firewood has become a lucrative business.

Taking advantage of the sharp increase in the demand for firewood that has been triggered by the cold weather and massive load shedding, many residents are turning to wood poaching.

A wood poacher who was brave enough to open up on her illegal activities, said that it was her only source of income, noting that recurrent and longer periods of power cuts forced them to poach wood. Mrs Nomalanga Mpofu ekes out a living selling firewood at Cowdray Park bus terminus. She started selling firewood in 2003, but her business improved greatly two years later when the Government-initiated Operation Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai. The operation saw Cowdray Park being extended with most houses not electrified.

"Selling firewood is my business. I am unemployed and a widow with three school-going children. To me selling firewood is a brisk business and I am able to fend for my children and send them to school. Most of the time we fetch firewood from the game park which is about five kilometres from the terminus.

"During this time of winter, firewood is in high demand, although I have been making money since the beginning of Hlalani Kuhle housing projects, as most residents use firewood as they haven't been connected to the electricity grid and others due to power cuts," she bragged.

Mrs Mpofu said that she sells a bundle for between $1 and $2. On a good day she said she could take home as much as $50.

"We are even failing to meet the demand during this winter season, due to massive power cuts. Firewood has become a daily need in this suburb. On a good day I get not less than $50 and at times we fail to meet the demand together with my colleagues," added Mrs Mpofu.

She is not alone in the business. Across the city in Emganwini suburb, wood poachers are also wreaking havoc. Most of the residents in "Dark City," a section of the suburb which is not electrified, rely on firewood for cooking. Some residents said that they were not into the firewood trade but fetch it from a nearby bush for domestic use only.

"We have no option; we don't have electricity since we built our houses over a decade ago. We fetch our firewood from the nearby farms, not for sale but for cooking. At times city council rangers chase us and arrest us, but at times they sympathise with our situation and release us," said one of the wood poachers who declined to disclose his name.

Despite the fact that wood poaching is illegal, it has become common to see people selling firewood along the roadsides or at shopping centres. People driving donkey-drawn carts and push cart operators have joined in by transporting firewood from the city's outskirts to nearby suburbs for sale.

Bulawayo mayor, Councillor Thaba Moyo, admitted that there was a serious problem of wood poaching in and around the city. He said that it was difficult to stop the poachers, but council deployed rangers in peri-urban parks to stop the wood theft.

"Yes wood poaching has become serious in and around the city, but it is very difficult to stop these people from poaching, because as soon as we arrest them and we take away the firewood from them, they soon go back again to their illegal business. It seems that our fines need to be revisited to make them deterrent to the offenders," said Clr Moyo.

The rangers arrest wood poachers and those who wantonly cut down trees, disturbing the ecosystem and causing desertification.

Firewood has emerged as the best and cost effective energy source for thousands of people who are facing daily power cuts. To many, firewood is the only energy option.

Recently, Zesa published a winter load shedding schedule designed to save power for winter wheat farming, industrial and other critical uses.