JB asks African Parks to manage other game reserves, parks
President Joyce Banda has asked African Parks, currently managing Majete Game Reserve, to consider erecting a fence around some of the country’s national parks and forests to prevent wild animals from causing havoc to surrounding communities.
President Banda was speaking on Wednesday when she officially opened the K125 million (US$386, 996) Majete 1 Epicenter in Chikhwawa constructed by Hunger Project-Malawi and African Parks at Chibwalizo Village in Traditional Authority Chapananga’s area in Chikhwawa.
Her request follows an incident in Salima where about eight elephants reportedly escaped from Thuma Forest and injured a 22-year-old man in his vegetable garden.
Banda also asked the institution to fence Nkhotakota Game Reserve in Nkhotakota and Liwonde National Park in Machinga.
“I met officials of African Parks and discussed the possibility of extending what they are doing here [at Majete] to other parks and reserves to reduce cases of poaching and continued insecurities to the surrounding communities,” she said.
While commending African Parks’ work at Majete, including the fencing of the protected area to prevent animals from breaking into nearby villages, the President acknowledged that most of the communities living around such areas face life threats from wild animals due to lack of a fence similar to the one at Majete.
“We have all seen it ourselves how commendable the African Parks’ work has made Majete secure, but we are also asking them to extend the same to other areas of need.
“I have instructed the Ministry of Tourism and Culture officials to initiate dialogue with their counterparts at African Parks so that they agree on the best way of extending the services to other areas.”
African Parks-Majete project manager Patricio Ndadzera said government invited African Parks to take over management of Nkhotakota but it is yet to do the same on Liwonde Park.
