Basarwa plead for water at CKGR

| Thursday June 10, 2010 00:00

 

'Basarwa who chose to continue living in the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve made a conscious decision to lead a life of hardship, thirst, and absence of services and they should be left to do that,' government lawyer, Paul Berger, believes.

Berger was speaking at the High Court in Lobatse yesterday at the beginning of the case in which Basarwa, who are resident inside the game reserve are demanding to be allowed to drill a borehole for water. Government in 2002 shut down the borehole at Mothomelo, inside the park, in a bid to pressurise Basarwa resident in the park to resettle outside where it promises to provide amenities.  Basarwa want the court to proclaim that they have a right to devise means of accessing water inside the game reserve. They want the court to allow them to reopen the Mothomelo borehole or a new one.  Government opposes the Basarwa application arguing that the drilling would encourage the establishment of human settlements inside the park, contrary to its policy of keeping the reserve for wildlife.

Berger said since government had taken a policy position to discourage the proliferation of human settlements in the park, it was not willing to allow the provision of water for human use inside the park. 

He said since in the original 2006 CKGR case in which the Basarwa won the right to live within the area, the court concluded that government's decision to close the  borehole within the park was neither unconstitutional nor unreasonable. 'Government has not been indifferent. The denial of people to operate a borehole does not seem unreasonable.

'The High Court in the Sesana case found that it's not unconstitutional for the state to withdraw services within the CKGR. Government wants to freeze human settlements within the game reserve because the CKGR is a conservation area,' argued Belger. He maintained that since Basarwa already knew about these facts when they decided to remain within the CKGR they should be expected to live under the existing conditions.

Berger said government policy is to discourage settlements inside the park and encourage them outside by offering health facilities, education and other services outside the park.

However, Basarwa counsel, Gordon Bennett, argued that Basarwa were not demanding any assistance from government, but rather, they wanted the court to assert their right to access water. 

Bennett maintained that access to water was the precondition for the Basarwa's enjoyment of their right to land, which the High Court had granted in the 2006 case. The lawyer argued that by denying Basarwa access to water, government's actions were unconstitutional and subjected Basarwa to inhuman treatment.

'What must it be like for someone 87 years of age to live without water in one of the harshest environments on earth - the CKGR - in the dry season?' wondered Bennett.

Bennett rejected the idea that the CKGR was created exclusively for wildlife saying it was reserved to protect both the wildlife and the residents within it from big game hunters.

'Government has long recognised this dual use of the CKGR. At no point has government contended that residence was not legal,' said Bennett.

Bennett said that all that Basarwa want is to be allowed to drill a borehole without government preventing them from doing so.

'We are not asking for government to sink us a borehole. We want to be allowed to simply help ourselves, that is, sink a borehole ourselves,' argued Bennett.  High Court judge, Lakhvinder Walia, reserved judgment. Bennett represents Basarwa while Berger, Boingotlo Gabriel Toteng and D.Lundstron represent government.