News / National
Crocodiles wreak havoc
27 Oct 2013 at 02:21hrs | Views
VILLAGERS in Kamativi and Songwa in Dete are living in fear following repeated attacks on their livestock by crocodiles at Kamativi and Songwa dams.
According to villagers who spoke to Sunday News, they now live in fear as they relied on fishing since the closure of Kamativi Tin Mine in 1994.
The dam was built by the mine to provide water for its operations and employees and two crocodiles are reported to have been introduced to discourage fishing.
Kamativi Mine suspended operations in 1994 due to plummeting prices of tin. Since then, the area has been reduced to a ghost town.
"Many people have lost their livestock over the years," said one man, who identified himself as Mwinde.
Mwinde, a fisherman who has braved the waters and claims to have escaped death several times, said he could not stop fishing in the dam as he was unemployed and had a family to fend for.
The villagers claim the reptiles now number more than 100.
"We call upon the parks (authority) to come and remove these crocodiles that are making our lives difficult," said another villager who refused to be named.
According to villagers, close to 70 cattle are killed every year.
Commenting on the matter, Ward 16 councillor Mr Cosmas Mwakiposa said the incidents were becoming frequent and he had since approached the Department of National Parks who, however, referred him to the Rural District Council.
"Growing cases of rogue crocodiles in Kamativi and Songwa dams have become a concern where people are losing their lives while trying to fend for their families by fishing. We have since approached the department of national parks to address the issue but we were told that it was not their problem but should be handled by the local authority," said Clr Mwakiposa.
Efforts to get a comment from the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority public relations manager, Mrs Caroline Washaya-Moyo, were fruitless.
However, an official from the wildlife watchdog said the authority could not do anything about the matter as the Kamativi Dam was privately owned by ZMDC while Songwa Dam belonged to Hwange Rural District Council.
He said the problem could be handled through the Campfire programme under which the rural district council had power to deal with the issue.
According to villagers who spoke to Sunday News, they now live in fear as they relied on fishing since the closure of Kamativi Tin Mine in 1994.
The dam was built by the mine to provide water for its operations and employees and two crocodiles are reported to have been introduced to discourage fishing.
Kamativi Mine suspended operations in 1994 due to plummeting prices of tin. Since then, the area has been reduced to a ghost town.
"Many people have lost their livestock over the years," said one man, who identified himself as Mwinde.
Mwinde, a fisherman who has braved the waters and claims to have escaped death several times, said he could not stop fishing in the dam as he was unemployed and had a family to fend for.
The villagers claim the reptiles now number more than 100.
According to villagers, close to 70 cattle are killed every year.
Commenting on the matter, Ward 16 councillor Mr Cosmas Mwakiposa said the incidents were becoming frequent and he had since approached the Department of National Parks who, however, referred him to the Rural District Council.
"Growing cases of rogue crocodiles in Kamativi and Songwa dams have become a concern where people are losing their lives while trying to fend for their families by fishing. We have since approached the department of national parks to address the issue but we were told that it was not their problem but should be handled by the local authority," said Clr Mwakiposa.
Efforts to get a comment from the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority public relations manager, Mrs Caroline Washaya-Moyo, were fruitless.
However, an official from the wildlife watchdog said the authority could not do anything about the matter as the Kamativi Dam was privately owned by ZMDC while Songwa Dam belonged to Hwange Rural District Council.
He said the problem could be handled through the Campfire programme under which the rural district council had power to deal with the issue.
Source - Sunday News
