Elephants Cause Havoc In Mbalambi
FRANCISTOWN: A herd of elephants was spotted at Mbalambi village recently causing fear amongst the villagers and leaving a trail of destruction.
Jumbos have over the past years tormented Mbalambi villagers causing severe destruction as they destroyed their crops, poles and fences surrounding their fields and the village dam. Mbalambi leader, Kgosi Bernard Mbalambi said elephants have continued to haunt his village bringing nothing but pain and terror to the villagers. He revealed that already his office has been receiving reports from some farmers that their fields were destroyed by elephants.
He added that this is not the first time as elephants have always given them countless headaches with no permanent solution to address the matter.
Kgosi Mbalambi said so far the elephants have destroyed the fence and poles surrounding their grazing area, several fields and their mini-dam.
He added that every year they face the same problem, but the government offers no compensation to villagers. “We are forced to dig deep into our pockets every year so that we can contribute for the dam and grazing area poles and fence.
This is very costly for most of us hence people should be compensated rather than be expected to spend every year,” he added.
He said they have raised their concerns with the relevant authorities, but it is just a pity no permanent solution has been availed to resolve the matter.
Mbalambi said the only response they got from the same authorities was that they should contribute towards a tower light as villagers so that it can be strategically placed near the dam. He said this is new to them as in the past the government had promised to supply the village with a solar panel, which will produce electricity for the small dam.
Mbalambi indicated that the electricity would be used for lighting up the area at night to scare the elephants away when they try to access the dam. He said residents are already running out of patience because of the endless promises made by the government than delivering on the project. In the meantime, he advised the villagers to be vigilant and avoid travelling at night for safety reasons.