This is the way to go, not just for this ministry but for all government departments. There is wisdom in engaging the public and everyone concerned about the services that a particular department offers. This approach engenders ownership. Part of the reason why some noble government programmes fail is because they lack ownership and the people that are supposed to utilise the programmes are kept away. The new Pitso approach should help bring all concerned parties into the picture.Most importantly, the ministry Pitso addressed the important subject of how to utilise community resources. In some rural communities mainly in the Chobe, North West and other parts of the North Central, communities rely on natural resources for their welfare. The Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) which are essentially run by Community Based Organisations (CBOs), are important vehicles in this regard. It is a great idea that communities should manage natural resources in their areas to further develop themselves as a collective. The CBOs have concessions to hotels, lodges and hold hunting licenses and could sub-lease their property.Given the magnitude of some of these activities, the CBOs naturally handle large sums of money. The revenue accrued from these activities is ideally meant to be used to provide infrastructure for the rural poor. The reality though is that some of these communities do not have the skills to handle the complex demands of the activities that they handle. Often government and NGOs provide technical support to build capacity.There have been reports over the years that some CBOs mishandle and even steal from the coffers of the community. In cases where the majority in the community are illiterate, some unscrupulous community members can get away with murder. We have seen reports in the media that some of those responsible have been tried in courts but there could be many who have not been caught. The rot could be bigger. Reports from the ministry's Pitso indicate that the issue of CBOs was discussed and it generated controversy. At the Pitso, the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Kitso Mokaila, announced that CBOs will now have to apply for funds from District Commissioners if they want to use CBNRM funding. According to Mokaila, this will protect the commonwealth of the communities from unscrupulous CBOs. Given the level of corruption, no one will doubt that some kind of intervention is needed to stop the rot.
The question however is whether the minister's intervention is warranted. The truth is that not all CBOs are corrupt and this form of intervention could be high-handed. Let us also not lose sight of the fact that this takes away the independence of CBOs and places them under the jurisdiction of government officials. This is no simple matter and we believe the minister and the CBOs should need to discuss this further. We do not need corrupt CBOs but we also do not want to see too much government in CBNRMs.
