Govt relocating illegal Gonarezhou settlers

Date: 22 January 2004

Source: Financial Gazette

Author: Anon

THE government has finally started relocating families that had been settled illegally around the Gonarezhou national park to pave way for the ambitious Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema confirmed that families occupying the buffer zones of the park were being resettled to avoid interference with the multi-million dollar tourism project.

Masvingo governor and resident minister, Josaya Hungwe, who could not be contacted for comment at the time of going to press, is handling the resettlement of the families.

"I am not sure about how the issue is being handled because it is being done by a committee led by governor Hungwe. Certainly the families are being moved away from the buffer zones of the park," said Nhema.

Concern had been raised that the area surrounding the park was unfit for human settlement, as the occupants and their crops were prone to attacks by marauding animals.

The park embraces South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park, the Manjinji Pan Sanctuary as well as the Malipati Safari Area.

The project, which has been on the drawing boards since November 2000, was concluded by the heads of state of the three participating countries in Mozambique last year.

Zimbabwe has struggled to make its contribution into the project, dubbed the world's biggest park covering 35 000 square kilometres, due to lack of funds.

Mozambique and South Africa, the other partners in the project, have announced massive investments in recent weeks.

Mozambique last year got a R65 million (about $55.3 billion on the interbank rate) from the German Development Bank for infrastructure development, while another R65 million will soon be made available for the resettlement of people from the footprint of the Limpopo national park.

The country's demining programme, within the vicinity of the national park, has also received R10 million ($8.5 billion) from the donor community.

The South African government has announced a R40 million ($34 billion) fund for the building of infrastructure in the eastern part of the Kruger National Park.

Zimbabwe needs to develop the 50 km corridor connecting Gonare-zhou National Park to the great park.