03 Apr 2025

Frequent conflicts resulting in court litigations have defeated the purpose of Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in Botswana.

Addressing a Kgotla meeting in Kazungula recently, Minister of Environment and Tourism Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said government through the Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) policy intended to empower communities to conserve, manage natural resources as well as to generate income from sustainable use of the resources.

However, he said many CBOs were marred with maladministration and poor governance, which rendered the organisations fruitless. Mr Mmolotsi pointed that some communities did not benefit from the funds generated by their CBOs because the boards failed to account for funds. He said boards were under obligation to call Annual General Meetings to report financial statements and all operations of the community trust.

He said the ministry continued to issue hunting quotas to CBOs, adding that Pandamatenga Lesoma Kazungula (PALEKA) Community Trust generated P8 million in 2024 from hunting. Mr Mmolotsi said millions generated from hunting could be injected into sustainable projects in communities.

Furthermore, he said Chobe with its natural resources, could be an epicenter of world class developments because of the two CBOs PALEKA and Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust (CECT) generating over P20 million jointly on annual basis. He informed residents that the national forensic audit would be extended to CBOs to hold people accountable for misusing and stealing from community. Mr Mmolotsi implored community trusts to consult the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on all decisions instead of sidelining like it was norm in most CBOs.

Kazungula resident, Mr Sangwana Sangwana requested the minister to clarify the role of the TAC on CBOs as it seemed the PALEKA board was taking decisions without consulting the TAC headed by district commissioner.

Another resident, Mr Misty Setaung opined that CBOs were embroiled in conflicts because of the millions generated, stating that he believed that if the trusts did not make much profits people would not bother campaigning for positions and fighting for money. He said Botswana should promote sustainable tourism like wildlife photography instead of hunting to ensure conservation of animals with good genes.

Chobe MP, Mr Simasiku Mapulanga said the forensic audit would help uncover deals that were done unconstitutionally. He said it was imperative that Chobe CBOs boards worked closely with TAC, communities and leadership to ensure that funds were channeled into sustainable projects that would elevate Chobe. ENDS