While Botswana authorities are reported to be doing something to stop the crime, one aspect of the situation is conspicuous by the way it is ignored in seeking a solution to the problem. The Kgalagadi South area is one of the poorest in the country and reports indicate that the devastating effects of poverty there are so evident that it brings great shame to a country famous as an international diamond giant whose rich mines have just produced the world's most expensive gemstone. As expected, poverty is a key factor behind the smuggling of wildlife in the Kgalagadi.
But in the prescriptions for dealing with the problem so far, there is no evidence of concerted efforts to change the lot of the poor foot- soldiers employed by the smuggling syndicates to capture the animals. We urge the government and other stakeholders to move with speed and purpose to deal with the widespread poverty of Kgalagadi and the country in general. Kgalagadi should receive special attention because of its unique status as a desert and the poverty-driven smuggling of wildlife that mainly benefits the white syndicates behind it. It is cases like Kgalagadi that should task the minds of people behind President Ian Khama's ambitious poverty eradication drive. Success or action in such poverty-stricken regions will go a long way in convincing doubters that the much-taunted poverty eradication drive is not just an expensive and ill-implemented project by an ill-advised president.
