Livelihoods ruined
Tefo Pheage | Friday June 24, 2016 17:20
His proposal is that if the fence is realigned, government must deliver on promises to supply farmers with water from the river, which, once a feature of Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, will be out of reach to these pastoralists.
He wondered how possible it would be for government to drill boreholes, or find alternatives for livestock to be watered post inclusion of the river in the park, if they cannot afford to fix the damaged Makgadikgadi fence.
“Government officials have told us in kgotla meetings held in Khumaga and Moreomaoto that they don’t have money to repair the fence in its current position, but we really wonder where the money to realign the fence as well as to finance us to access water from the park will come from? What the communities had asked for is the cheaper solution of maintaining the boundary fence in its current position,” he said.
Thebe stressed that the river is the lifeblood of Boteti residents and taking it away from them for tourism purposes would impoverish them. In his view, government is more interested in conserving wild animals and expanding tourism operations compared to human life.
The young farmer explained that he makes over P4,600 after selling two cows. The amount, he said can finance over two months of basic needs. The family also does arable agriculture along the riverbank where the soils are fertile, and crops benefit from the moisture.
Two Khumaga residents who trade in both river sand for construction of modern brick houses, as well as another type of soil mined in the river for use in building traditional mud huts told Mmegi that this exercise lacked proper consultation.
Luke Gareitsiwe, 36 and Tebagano Mokorufu 30, are embittered that government seems oblivious to the fact that their lifestyles and survival has for years been tied to this natural resource. “We therefore need to be adequately involved through proper consultation throughout the process. This river is our life, here in Khumaga we have never known any material for building purposes besides tapping into the Boteti River. The soil here is durable,” said Mokorufu.
Gareitsiwe concurred, noting that “they (the government) have not taken the fact that our lives are dependent on this river into consideration. We need to be taken on board in order to prepare ourselves and find ways of better adapting to a new way of life”.
In a month, the two enterprising men supply over 30 loads of river sand and the other type of soil. A load is priced at P150, and this, they say has been their life for many years.
“This is the only way we know for survival, if they take the river then we won’t have houses. When heavy rains come they will wash us away from our shelter since there is no other place to mine soil and sand as strong, and durable as in the river,” Gareitsiwe said.
The two are skeptical as to whether government will deliver on its promises to avail water for domestic livestock purposes subsequent to taking over the river. They argued that history is replete with government not living up to its promises, citing the CKGR relocation case where people moved into Xere on promises that water would be availed. Though a borehole was drilled, its purpose was short-lived because after it broke down within two months, it was never maintained. As a result, these people have developed mistrust towards the government.
“People were moved from the CKGR with handsome promises on the table, but now they have been left to suffer. They were given water for a short while now they are on their own,” said Gareitsiwe. A 54-year-old mother of six children, Baraedi Motsamai of Khumaga village said this development will affect her greatly too. Like many in the area she is a small stock farmer, whose goats are watered in the river. “We grow crops in the fields along the river banks where we usually harvest more yield even when the river is not flowing compared to when we plough in fields that are far from it. This year I had no luck as the unfortunate status of the boundary fence saw elephants destroy my crops before they were reaped,” she said.
“We fish in this river for both subsistence and small scale commercial purposes. This is the only life I know, some of us will not survive without this resource. Where will we get durable soil to build our mud huts? ’’ she asked.
“I am totally against this decision, the people behind this do not understand us, our culture and what an invaluable resource both land and water are to us. How are we to live without what we have had for life?”