Mmadinare Development Trust implored to boost tourism industry

MMADINARE: Deputy District Commissioner for Bobirwa Sub District, Mompoloki Mochanang, has encouraged Mmadinare Development Trust’s Board of Trustees to pursue strategies that will bring positive returns on investment. Speaking during the World Tourism Day commemorations held last week, Mochanang said in 2007 government developed a Community Based Natural Resource Management Policy (CBNRMP) with the mandate of creating a foundation for conservation based development.

He explained that CBNRMP was founded on the premise that community members share an interest in improving livelihoods through sustainable management and utilisation of natural resources. He emphasised the need to protect biodiversity and eco systems, to ensure that they are balanced with improvement to rural livelihoods and reduce poverty. “It is through this policy that Community Based Organisations such as Mmadinare Development Trust are encouraged and supported. I am happy that the Trust exists and is fully operational hence I encourage the board of trustees to continuously pursue strategies that will bring positive returns on investments for the trust,” he said.

Mochanang said tourism could prosper if it is aligned with social values such as participation, education and enhanced local governance. “There can be no real tourism development if such development damages the values and culture of the host communities or if the socio economic benefits generated by the tourism sector do not trickle down to the community level,” he said.

Editor's Comment
Gov't must empower DCEC urgently

As the new Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government takes charge, it must act decisively to equip the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) with the tools, laws, and resources needed to combat graft. The time for half-measures is over. DCEC Director-General, Botlhale Makgekgenene’s, recent address to the Public Accounts Committee paints a stark picture. Over five years, leadership instability, chronic underfunding and weak...

Have a Story? Send Us a tip
arrow up