Togolese President leaves

VISITING Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe has expressed interest in fostering co-operation between his country and Zimbabwe in the area of wildlife conservation.

President Gnassingbe was in the country where he officially opened the just ended 57th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair on Friday.

Addressing journalists after touring Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage on the outskirts of Bulawayo yesterday, the Togolese President praised Zimbabwe's wildlife conservation programmes. His remarks fly in the face of critics who have been demonising Zimbabwe's wildlife management programmes and have also campaigned against wildlife exports from the country.

President Gnassingbe said his country was in the process of rehabilitating its national parks and stands to benefit a lot through co-operating with Zimbabwe in the sector.

"Zimbabwe has a good wildlife management programme and I feel we can learn a lot from what you are doing here. We would want to establish co-operation with Zimbabwe to improve our own situation. In Togo we are working on rehabilitating our national parks. We recently had a big demonstration in the parks areas with the help of the UNDP as we are making efforts to rehabilitate our game parks," he said.

President Gnassingbe said Togo's wildlife population had gone down over the years but was now on a recovery path and this could be enhanced through sharing ideas with countries like Zimbabwe with sound wildlife management programmes.

"In the past our wildlife was an important source of revenue but today Togo has less than 100 elephants because many were killed and some fled to neighbouring countries. So it is important for us to explain to our people the importance of preserving wildlife and we are open to learning from Zimbabwe," he said.

President Gnassingbe commended officials at Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage for their project which he said was useful in wildlife conservation.

"I particularly liked the idea of an orphanage for animals. You take the animals in, give them necessary care then release them into the wild and you do it for no financial gain. I think you are doing something quite useful in preserving wildlife," he said.

The Togolese President toured Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage where he was shown a number of animal species kept at the facility. He was accompanied by Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko, Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Dr Christopher Mushohwe and Industry and Commerce Mike Bimha, among other officials from Togo and Zimbabwe.

Some of the animals that the delegation was shown include antelopes, kudus, bucks, monkeys, birds of prey, snakes and lions among other animals species kept at the orphanage. Briefing the delegation on the operations of Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage before the tour, the director, Mr Kevin Wilson, said African countries should come up with homegrown solutions to their wildlife challenges.

Mr Wilson also briefed the Togolese President of his organisation's involvement in conservation efforts in Togo where it worked with the World Bank in various programmes.

"We have been involved in lot of conservation efforts in your home area in Kumasi. We helped with some of the animals that had gone to Ghana and Nigeria and we enjoyed a great working relationship with authorities. As Africa I feel we need to look for local solutions to our problems and not look elsewhere," said Mr Wilson.

Meanwhile, President Gnassingbe left Zimbabwe around midday yesterday for his home country Togo. He was seen off at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo by VP Mphoko and Ministers Bimha, Dr Mushohwe and Samuel Undenge (Energy and Power Development).

Before departing, President Gnassingbe inspected the guard of honour mounted by the Presidential Guard. He was also treated to some traditional dances by a local dance ensemble.