Invasive plant, Sexanana surfaces in Gabane
Gabane residents told the Ministry of Environment and Tourism on Tuesday that they do not want the invasive Sexanana plant known by its scientific name ‘Prosopis Mesquite,’ in their village.
They intend to eliminate the plant the best way they see possible, saying the plant will bring nothing but trouble to their village.
Officer Masego Serema of the Ministry of Environment when addressing the residents at a Kgotla meeting agreed with the residents that the plant needs to go.
“The plant needs a lot of water for survival and its roots can go as deep as 80 metres. It is a very selfish plant because it sucks all water and leaves nothing for other plants,” he said, adding that the tree roots can block water pipes, warning that if allowed to spread within the village, there may never be enough water in the village in the next few years. Some people are also allergic to the plant as it may cause health complications. “We have observed that some people have the plant in their homes, if you did not know what it does now you do.
When you have that tree in your home, there is no how you can grow other plants, all will die, your beautiful flowers and roses will die,” he warned. The plant was first introduced to the Kgalagadi areas from outside Africa for purpose of reforestation but was soon found to be an invasive plant. Even then, the people of Kgalagadi in collaboration with the UNDP found ways of eliminating it in a manner that will be beneficial to them, not just cutting and throwing it away.
“Some make coal out of it and others make beautiful furniture, I must warn you though that it is not easy to cut or chop out the tree, your axes and saws will probably get damaged in the process so be cautious,” he warned. At that moment, an elderly resident confirmed that he had been trying to use an electric saw but it got damaged.
Serema advised Balete of Gabane to be very careful when eliminating the tree, because if its seeds fall to the ground, chances are that it will grow back again. One effective method that has worked for the people of Kgalagadi was burning the tree including its roots.
In 2019, Forest Conservation Botswana (FCB) committed a whooping P1million towards extermination of sexanana in Kgalagadi. The plant was introduced in Kgalagadi in the 1980s to address soil erosion but it spread rapidly and became uncontrollable. Even today, the tree is still very popular in the Kgalagadi region.