Flatbeds, graders needed to control raging veldt fires

DIRANG LEKUNTWANE
Correspondent | Tuesday September 21, 2010 00:00

The fires - which have been raging for about two weeks now - are torching cattle ranches as they head towards the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR).

In a desperate move to arrest the situation, a team of volunteers are reportedly using graders to build firebreaks as the flames gain on them.

The Assistant District Commissioner of the Central District, Lyoia Chere, says they need more graders to create barrier lines.

'While we have been promised some graders, the problem is how do we get them here,' Chere says.

'They have to be transported on flatbed lorries.' Thankfully, she says, a few flatbeds have been promised from Gaborone and Francistown.

Chere, who is also the Chairman of the local Disaster Management Committee, says another problem is that volunteers are literally thin on the ground.

Those present include members of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), government employees and some residents.

'These fires are a cause for concern because the people are reluctant to assist,' she says. 'They don't seem to care about the risk the fire poses to their lives and wildlife.'