"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.
