16 May 2024

Residents of Bodibeng says they continue to loose their livestock and produce to problematic wild animals in the area.

They voiced their concerns during a kgotla meeting addressed by Member of Parliament for Ngami, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama in Bodibeng recently noting that human-wildlife conflict intensity had increased in the recent months due to drying of water sources.

They cited animals such hyenas and jackals among others saying they were intruding into human settlement in search of water.

Residents also complained about delay by department of Wildlife to compensate those affected and called for compensation rates to be closer to market value.

One of the residents, Mr Peame Njarakana said Hyenas and Jackals were causing more harm and pleaded with the wildlife department to intervene by installing predator-proof fences.

Responding to comments from residents,      Senior Wildlife Ranger  Mr Gagoitsewe Gabankalage urged residents to always have their documents such as Omang and land certificates ready to speed up compensation  payments.

“Initially payments were done over the counter but people are now required to have bank accounts thus the process taking longer hence delays,” he said.

For his part, area MP, Mr Hikuama assured residents of his support by advocating for interventions to mitigate the impact of wildlife on the community.

On other issues, he informed residents about the Constitution Amendment Bill (2024) which would be discussed in Parliament soon. He said the amendments targeted key areas of education and health which have been prioritised as human rights.

On other issues, Mr Hikuama said access to potable water was still a challenge. He said Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) was still working on maintaining the Semolo water treatment plant that supplied water to Bodibeng and surrounding villages.

“I was reliably informed that a tender has been awarded to a certain company for refurbishment of the plant last year but it has not started,” he said.

Residents also learnt that their village would now fall under Maun West Constituency following the delimitation report which saw formation of the third constituency in Maun.

Earlier, Ms Gaosenye Tshekelo highlighted critical need for access to clean water, emphasising the challenges they faced due to unreliable water sources.

Meanwhile, other residents complained about the bad state of Ngami Junior Secondary School saying hostels were dilapidated compromisng safety of students.

They said the situation had forced some pupils to neglect school.

Some called for construction of new additional classrooms at Bodibeng Primary School citing that some classes were being taught under the trees.

Another burning issue was prolonged delay in the allocation of residential plots.

However, Mr Hikuama acknowledged the frustration felt by the community and promised to make follow on the issue up.

“We are not saying the landboard should skip all the required processes of land allocation but we are pleading with them to accelerate their processes,” said Mr Hikuama.

The MP reassured the community that their concerns would not go unheard and pledged to work tirelessly to address the identified issues through proper channels. ENDS