Gonarezhou national park earmarked for resettlement

One of Zimbabwe’s foremost national parks, Gonarezhou, has been demarcated for resettlement under the controversial fast-track programme in a move likely to deal a mortal blow to tourism in the south of the country, the weekly ‘Zimbabwe Independent’ reported on Friday. According to the report, the demarcation of part of the world-renowned park, the beacon of tourism in the south-eastern Lowveld, came barely two months after the signing of a transfrontier agreement between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa which encompasses Gonarezhou as a regional conservation area. The sudden change of land use at Gonarezhou, without consulting the other signatories to the agreement, was likely to scuttle the creation of a vast game park which includes Gazaland in Mozambique and the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the report said.

Masvingo governor Josiah Hungwe on Thursday confirmed the resettling of people in the park but was quick to say that animals and humans would not be living side by side. According to the report, when asked when people would be moved into Gonarezhou and how they would cohabit with the animals he said: “People have already started to build. There is 11,000 hectares of land available so people can all fit well. It’s not that we have taken the whole park area but what we have done is to acquire land which is just adjacent to the park area.”

However, the report said, the governor’s claim that the land was “adjacent” to the park was at variance with reports from the National Parks department and Agritex. In a letter to National Parks acting director Brigadier Epmarcus Kanha-nga, a senior National Parks provincial officer clearly stated that the land being acquired was within the national park.