Suspected poachers have set ablaze and completely destroyed a Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) tractor and tow grader both worth about K400 million in an ambush attack on the crew that was grading roads in Kafue National Park.
The road maintenance equipment was one of the equipments that were purchased by the World Bank under the seed project to improve road infrastructure and enhance tourism development in Kafue National Park.
This is contained in a press statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today by ZAWA Public Relations Officer Wilfred Moonga.
Mr Moonga explained that the incident happened on Tuesday this week around 15:00 hours when the road maintenance team was grading the North eastern boundary of the park bordering Chief Mulendama’s areas in Mumbwa District.
A check at the scene by the team comprising ZAWA and Police officers in Mumbwa yesterday confirmed that the tractor was completely burnt and destroyed while the row grader was partially gutted by spreading fire that only burnt the wheels.
Meanwhile, both ZAWA and Police have launched a man hunt to arrest and bring the suspected criminals to justice.
Mr Moonga said it is regrettable that poachers could burn the equipment which was procured for the purpose of improving and maintaining the park road infrastructure which includes management of tourist loop roads as well as park boundary.
He noted that this development is retrogressive as it retards tourism development efforts because poor roads in parks have been the major impediment to tourism growth.
Mr Moonga said poor road infrastructure has over the years caused the Kafue National Park, despite having the highest biodiversity as compared to other national parks within Southern, Central and African region, not to realize its full potential and claim its rightful position as a major tourism destination of choice.
[ ZANIS ]
Find them and kill them. Daft i.d.i.ots holding back the development of their area. It could be true that poverty is acuatually ingrained in someones DNA. I have also good reason to believe that Zambia’s National IQ has dropped by 80 points since independence.
No comment. I don’t know whether they benefit from tourism or not hence its hard to comment. Any way, since they were bought by the World Bank very soon, I just hope they were insured. Please help the people who are disadvantaged by creation of national parks and still live by National parks fro them to appreciate tourism other wise what you may be valuing may not make sense to them. Politicians go on Poaching and some of them have drowned in rivers only to be told that they were hunting birds. Atase twalimishiba.
rupiya for 2011