Habakkuk trust to host engagement of authorities with villagers over National Parks squabbles

Habakkuk Trust will on Friday host policy dialogue meeting on management of natural resources, especially looking at Matobo National Park amid revelations villagers were complaining that they were failing to benefit from the natural resources in their locality.

The community also complains over the extension of the Park which happened years ago.

Senator Sithembile Mlotshwa, Matobo North MP Never Khanye, Matobo National Park Area manager, Chief Nyangazonke, Representative from Parliamentary portfolio committee on environment and tourism, representatives from the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Matobo RDC CEO, DA will be in attendance.

According to details obtained the community is very bitter about the extension of the National Park which encroached their villages living them with little space and limited grazing land.

The conflict has been exacerbated by that they are failing to benefit from the national park, issue of employing of people from other areas, leading to the communities demanding their land back and having constant fights with the park.

Reports say also their animals are impounded by the Park authorities once they are spotted within the Park boundaries and they are made to pay a fine of $2 per cattle but the Park animals also move to their villages, destroy crops and domestic animals and villagers are supposed to just drive them back to the Park.

Villagers are quite bitter about that hence they do not protect the animals anymore.

The meeting will be held between 10am and 1pm at the Farmhouse.