Botswana losing out on the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Acting Minister of Environment and Tourism Setlhabelo Modukanele says that compared to South Africa, Botswana is losing out commercially on the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
The Minister explained that the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is comanaged by the South African Parks, SAN Parks, on the South African side, and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks on the Botswana side.
He explained that the South African National Parks ( SAN Parks) is a parastatal therefore it is fully commercialised by the South African side and has businesses operating.
“The commercial or activities on the South African side are due to a combination of investment by the SAN Parks who are mandated to operate businesses and the private sector. The Botswana side does not have many commercial activities and this was due to not having infrastructures such as electricity which is necessary for businesses to optimally operate. “There are currently only two lodges on the Botswana side. However, there are plans to increase the commercial activities as the Ministry is in the process of allocating campsites within the Botswana side of KTP,” the Minister said. He said Botswana Government promotes the participation of the private sector in the development of commercial activities such as fuel stations and convenience shops, and the provision of such activities would be made during the review of the park management plan. He said the review of the management plan will identify options and opportunities for increasing investment opportunities and beneficiation by Botswana’s local communities and the private sector. “My Ministry has paid Botswana Power Corporation ( BPC) for electricity connection to be connected from the ESKOM grid from the South African side,” he said adding that BPC is still working on the logistics with their counterparts to facilitate electricity connection. He said in relation to air access, it is not true that South Africa prohibits Botswana tourists and Botswana tourism operators from using their airstrips. He explained that current standard operating procedures on this subject matter which are in practice clearly permit Botswana operators to use airstrips on the South African side. Modukanele said these standing operating procedures will be updated at the next Botswana/ South Africa Joint Park Management Committee meeting scheduled for August this year. He revealed that to date, he is not aware of any client from the Botswana side that was denied access to the airstrips on the South African side.
“Current practice is that prior to departure from any Botswana airstrip or airport, all scheduled flights to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ( KTP) are subject to the approval of their flight plan by the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana ( CAAB) and upon arrival at the port of entry, there is clearance administered by the Department of Immigration and Botswana Unified Revenue Service ( BURS) officials.
“However, currently the Two Rivers Border Post is closed, a decision that was triggered by the COVID- 19 travel restriction. The nearest port of entry is Bokspits,” he told Parliament.
The Minister who is also MP for Lerala- Maunatlala pointed out that South Africa provides night drives in the form of guided tours by some park rangers from 1900 up to 2100 hours. Currently, there are no night drives on the Botswana side. “Admittedly, this means that Botswana operators are disadvantaged by not offering night drives, as I have mentioned earlier, we will be embarking on the process of reviewing the KTP management during the financial year 2024, with the aim of harmonising operations between the two sides and increasing investment opportunities for the Botswana side,” Modukanele said. The Minister was responding to a question from Kanye North MP Thapelo Letsholo who asked the Minister of Environment and Tourism to apprise Parliament on commercial activity in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park; more particularly: compare and contrast commercial activity on the Botswana side with that on the South African side of the Park.
MP Letsholo also wanted to know what the Ministry’s plan to improve and increase commercial activity on the Botswana side are. including fuel supply and convenience shops; and for the Minister to confirm the accuracy of reports that South Africa prohibits Botswana tourists and Botswana Tourism Operators from using their airstrip.