2004
November/December 2004
11 December– How girlfriend’s father shot to success… Thousands of Zimbabwe’s white landowners might have been swept away by land seizures, but Charles Davy, the father of Prince Harry’s girlfriend Chelsy, is among a handful still going.
10 December– Multi-Sectoral Approach Vital to End City’s Water Woes…After spending years contributing to the choking of the Zimbabwean capital’s main water supply reservoir with effluent, Harare residents are now paying dearly for their actions.
10 December– RUWA Board in Dilemma…. Ruwa Local Board is in a dilemma after the Epworth Local Board turned down its request to expand its sewage works at Adelaide Farm, where Epworth has plans for residential expansion.
8 December– Tourists continue to shun Zimbabwe… International tourists continued to shun Zimbabwe because of the country’s negative image with 29 percent less arrivals between January and September this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
29 November– Zimbabweans eat killer lion… A group of Zimbabwean villagers has exacted sweet revenge on a lion which had wreaked havoc on their livestock by eating it, local media reports.
8 November–Rhino shot in Zimbabwe…..A 4-year-old female black rhino, Fungai, was shot by poachers on 15 October 2004 on Circle G ranch.
8 November–Zimbabwe preparing to take over coordination of the GLTP…Zimbabwe preparing to take over coordination of the GLTP Zimbabwe has begun communications with other countries and the Peace Parks Foundation, regarding the take over of coordination of the GLTP, as per the International treaty.
8 November–Feline Immunodeficiency Virus in the GLTP – the REAL Story…In recent months there has been some press on the complex issue of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) affecting lions in KNP, and affecting the viability of the lion populations in the GLTP.
September/October 2004
30 October–Elephants in distress… I have recently returned from a trip to Kariba where I saw several elephants that had been unfortunate enough to wander into wire snares in Bumi Hills and Mapongola Hills.
29 October–City dwellers try urban farming to fill gaps in the foodbasket….Bulawayo – As Zimbabwe’s urban population struggles to cope with the high cost of living, residents in the country’s second largest city, Bulawayo, have embarked on subsistence farming to alleviate economic pressure. Several hundred urban dwellers, especially those living in high-density areas, have already cleared small patches of land as the planting season approaches.
19 October — Zimbabwe fines foreign campers…Tourists arrested for masquerading as Zimbabweans have been fined by police and released.
18 October — Forestry Commission Launches Energy Programme … The Forestry Commission last week launched the Tobacco Wood Energy Programme (TWEP) aimed at providing alternative source of energy to new tobacco farmers during a field day held at Chapepa farm in Karoi.
14 October –Elephant Debate Not a Ploy to Reintroduce Culling, Says Mabunda… The upcoming Great Elephant Debate is not a ploy to reintroduce elephant culling, insisted chief executive of South African National Parks David Mabunda today.
14 October –Sustainable Timber Harvest Vital …. The Chronicle’s lead article of October 6 2004 “Ecological disaster looms in river basin . . . as concessionaires over-harvest timber,” comes hard on the heels of yet another article of September 28 2004 by the same paper, which condemned and criticised the Forestry Commission for authorising the export of rough sawn timber.
13 October — Protect Environment, Chiefs Urged…Traditional leaders have been urged to understand and appreciate their roles and responsibilities in protecting the environment as outlined in the Traditional Leaders Act, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, has said.
5 October–Fears for rhino as hunters are allowed to kill again…Big game hunters can return to Africa to shoot the black rhino after a 20-year worldwide ban on trade in the animals was lifted yesterday.29 September –Mapungubwe National Park reveals its royal secrets…Peace Parks Foundation, De Beers, National Parks Trust and WWF SA assisted in consolidating the area which has now become the Mapungubwe National Park by facilitating negotiations with landowners and the buying up of farmland.
27 September–Anthrax strikes Zimbabwe wildlife…HARARE – An anthrax outbreak has killed 1,500 animals, mostly kudus, in two conservation areas next to one of Zimbabwe’s largest game parks, the director of veterinary services said Monday.
26 September–Mutare Council in Court Over River Pollution…The city council last Tuesday appeared before the courts for allegedly polluting Sakubva River.
24 September– Zimbabwe tourism figures plummet … The number of foreign tourists visiting Zimbabwe dropped by 36% in the first half of this year compared to the same time in 2003, the country’s tourism promotion body said on Thursday.
22 September –Conservationists hail transfrontier area: New region will include land from SA, Zimbabwe and Mozambique…JOHANNESBURG — Conservationists are rejoicing that land around the Kruger National Park will be incorporated into one of the largest conservation areas in the world.13 September–Government accused of inflating elephant population…Harare – Wildlife conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused the government of inflating the country’s elephant population to dupe a Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) meeting next month to allow Harare to continue trading in the animal.
10 September–Limpopo Peace Park wins GIS award… Peace Parks Foundation of South Africa was presented with the prestigious Presidential Award in front of 13,000 attendees of the 2004 ESRI International User Conference.
10 September– Water shortages force schools to close…Harare – Water supplies to huge swathes of Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, will be cut to just six hours a day because of severe shortages. Oriel Boys High school in Harare has been without steady water supplies for several weeks.
2 September–Zim duped in Congo…Zimbabwe, which played a critical role in propping up the government of the strife-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has emerged bruised after burning its fingers in a flopped US$300 million timber deal sealed in 2001, The Financial Gazette can reveal.
July/August 2004
25 August–Innovative bush camps for AIDS orphans… NGOs dealing with children orphaned by HIV/AIDS have tended to concentrate on material support, neglecting their emotional and psychosocial needs. But a developmental organisation in the southern region of Zimbabwe is filling that gap by using bush camps to teach orphans how to cope with their trauma. Masiye Camp has been organising bush camps in the Matopos national park, 65km south of Bulawayo, since 1998.
20 August–SA hunters on ‘wildlife killing spree’ in Zimbabwe…Conflicting reports are emerging from Zimbabwe about poaching and illegal trophy hunting. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force has heard of illegal hunting in the Matetsi area near Victoria Falls, its chairman, Johnny Rodrigues, says.
20 August– Nhema Orders Probe of Parks… Environment and Tourism minister Francis Nhema has ordered the National Parks and Wildlife Management board to investigate the suspension of operations director Vitalis Chadenga on allegations of failing to account for US$500 he was given as part of an allowance.
20 August–How the War Was Won…The Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreaks of 2002 and 2003 nearly crippled the beef industry in Botswana. General manager of Botswana Meat Commission’s (BMC) Francistown abattoir, Thabani Machacha, says the outbreak was cruel to both farmers and the people of Botswana in general.
20 August–Tourism Adds Only 2% to GDP…The tourism sector will this year contribute only 2% towards the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a figure which translates to $3,4 billion, statistics from the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism (ZCT) have revealed.
16 August–Zimbabwe Secretariat for Transfrontier Park…Zimbabwe has been appointed secretariat for the Zambezi-Okavango Trans-frontier Park which encompasses Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia, Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema said.
16 August–Safari Operators Probed…The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority are investigating several safari operators who might have swindled the Government of up to US$11 million (about $Z60 billion).14 August –Wildlife sanctuary now a hunting ground… Zimbabwe’s information minister, Jonathan Moyo, has seized a celebrated African wildlife sanctuary, government documents have shown, and turned it over to hunting.
13 August — State Does Not Intend to Have Ban in Ivory Trade Lifted, Says Nhema …. [The] Government does not intend to have the ban on trade in ivory lifted because it protects the number of elephants in the country, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, told Parliament on Wednesday.
6 August –Uncertainty Grips CFU…Uncertainty continues to grip the agricultural sector as government lists more commercial farms for compulsory acquisition.
4 August–National Parks Director Arrested… The National Parks and Wildlife Authority director of operations, Mr Vitalis Chadenga, was arrested by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department’s Special Investigations squad on Monday for allegedly capturing wild animals worth about $198 million without a permit and defrauding his employers of about $3,5 million.
2 August–living off a dying land… Harare – Columns of smoke smudge the sky above a newly resettled farm, outside Harare, coal black. Farmer Denis Kambwe says he’s burning grass because it flushes terrified wild game out into the open.
31 July–Mugabe: Time not ripe for water deal…Langkawi – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said the time was not yet ripe to seal a deal on the RM2.28 billion venture between a Malaysian company and the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Authority. “The project requires much more discussion. Our Ministry of Water is also not here. The deal will be done in the future,” he said yesterday.
20 July–Zambia gains as Zimbabwe loses out… Livingstone – As one gapes in awe from the Zambian side at the mighty Zambezi River cascading over the Victoria Falls, roaring at a rate of about 900 cubic metres per second, it is not difficult to understand why the locals believe that the falls — regarded as one of the seven natural wonders of the world — embody the soul of a powerful deity whom they refer to as Nyaminyami.
16 July–Ranger implicated in $55m bribery… A senior National Parks game ranger has been implicated in a bribery case involving $55 million to allow a South African firm to conduct illegal hunting.
15 July–Ostrich Farmers Demand Exports Levy Cut… Ostrich farmers have called for a reduction of the two percent levy charged on their exports under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), arguing that the existing levy was crippling the sector.
14 July–Virus Infects Lions…Feline Immunedeficiency Virus, the equivalent of the HIV in human beings, has infected lions in Kruger National Park in South Africa, threatening the viability of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
8 July–More Tourists Shy Away From Zimbabwe…Zimbabwe’s tourism sector, on the downturn since 2000 when the government embarked on its controversial and often chaotic land reform exercise, has sunk deeper into the doldrums as tourist arrivals continue to plummet.
4 July– Outcry Over Growing Urban Pollution… After draining the greasy oil from ramshackle vehicles he repairs in the streets every day in Harare’s Kopje area, Tawanda throws it, along with other discarded vehicle parts, into the nearby storm-drain oblivious of the repercussions of his actions.
2 July–Hippo pools Resort Under Threat… Cloud Masaraure, a Mufurudzi game warden, is using Zanu PF youths and local poachers to intimidate camp workers and tourists who visit the camp
May/June 2004
25 June– Zim Delays Transfrontier National Park Appointment… Zimbabwe has delayed the appointment of a substantive coordinator for the Gaza, Kruger and Gonarezhou Transfrontier National Park despite a South African-based organisation offering to pay the successful applicant.
25 June– Poaching Threatens Megapark Project… The illegal occupation of Gonarezhou National Park by the Chitsa people threaten the implementation of the Gaza-Kruger-Gonarezhou Transfrontier Park agreement.
25 June–Campfire to embark on amacimbi project…The Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) Association says it will embark on an amacimbi (Mopane worms) harvesting and management project in Bulilima-mangwe district of Matabeleland South province as a way of promoting rural development.
21 June– The best of times and the worst, for two tourist towns … Victoria Falls – With a name like that, one would think this town would have no trouble attracting tourists.
17 June– Landmines used to kill hippos…Finding themselves severely understaffed and unable to cope with the high levels of poaching, National Parks enlisted the assistance of the army and airforce in an effort to protect the dwindling wildlife population.
16 June– Zimbabwe turns on the charm for Chinese tourists… Zimbabwe has launched a campaign to attract tourists from China and other Asian countries, planning promotional tours in Asia and training courses in language and even Chinese cooking here.
15 June–Zimbabwe not nationalising all land… Zimbabwe has denied reports that it plans to end private land ownership.Policy on land which is not part of the land reform programme is not changing, a statement said.
11 June– Zim ‘wrecking’ border park…Johannesburg – The land redistribution policy of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe was threatening to turn the transfrontier parks project from a showpiece into a wreck, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said on Thursday.
9 June–New Zimbabwe land shock… In what has been described as “the end of the end” for Zimbabwe’s wildlife, President Robert Mugabe’s government has announced it is to nationalise all wildlife conservancies and productive farm land.
9 June–Transfrontier Park on schedule… The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) and the plans for this year are still on schedule. This long-term project, that will unite the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe, is already more than just talk…
5 June–Black rhinos face extinction in Zimbabwe as Mugabe seizes game parks for hunting…The black rhino is a species that has returned from the brink. After falling by 96 per cent in the 20 years to 1992, its population began to grow again thanks to the efforts of conservationists.
28 May–War veterans assault game farm manager… Suspected war veterans brutally assaulted the farm manager of Masapas Game Ranch in the Save Valley Conservancy last Friday, the Zimbabwe Independent has been told.
24 May–GLTP board seeks funding… The Joint Management Board of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park has stepped up efforts to mobilise funds for the development of the park from the donor community and is looking at ways of securing possible funding under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
7 May–Army/National Parks accused of poaching… The Zimbabwe National Army and the department of National Parks and Wildlife Management have been accused of involvement in poaching activities that have decimated Zimbabwe’s wildlife in the country’s conservancies.
6 May– Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force Report … Since December, 4 rhino have been killed by poachers in the Sinamatella Intensive Protection Zone bringing the death toll in this area to 30. A further 2 rhino were shot by poachers in December at Save Valley.
March/April 2004
23 April–Confusion reigns in tourism… Confusion reigns in the country’s struggling tourism sector with Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono this week announcing tourist arrival figures that are totally different from the ones released by the ZTA two weeks ago.
19 April–Zimbabwe denies scuppering development of transfrontier park…The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) this week dismissed concerns by South African and Mozambican tourism ministries that Zimbabwe was scuppering development on its side of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park by failing to finance capital development projects on the Gonarezhou National Park.
17 April– At the mercy of Mugabe’s secret police…The South African tourists who endured a day of hell in Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe’s secret police interrogated them as suspected mercenaries, have given a gripping account of their ordeal.
16 April– IUCN launches documentary examining conflicts between governments, communities and wildlife in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park… Harare – IUCN has launched the “From the Shade into the sun” – a documentary that explores what effects the introduction of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) will have on communities living in and around the parks of Kruger (South Africa), Gonarezhou (Zimbabwe) and Limpopo (Mozambique).
11 April–Plans for new Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Park… South African National Parks yesterday announced the launch of the Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo.
1 April–Save the Rhino Foundation Project Report from Zimbabwe… A Save the Rhino Foundation official visits various projects in Zimbabwe and reports on poaching and difficulties facing Rhino conservation.
26 March– Move to acquire conservancies criticised… The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has criticised government plans to acquire all privately-owned game parks and conservancies, saying the move is tantamount to punishing farmers who provide sanctuary for animals.
January/February 2004
22 January–Govt relocating illegal Gonarezhou settlers… 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.
12 January– Botswana battles to lure non-hunters… In a recent study of lion conservation, which concentrated on fieldwork in Zimbabwe and Botswana, wildlife expert Professor David Macdonald found a “shocking” decline in the number of lions, a reduction of about 90% since the early 1980s.
January–Born Free Foundation project report (Gwayi)… Poaching activity in the Gwayi is currently at a very low level, however experience tells us that this is a temporary state of affairs brought about by the onset of the rains.
