Binga businessman sues Zimparks over fishing rigs
A BulAwAyo High Court Judge has reserved judgment in a case in which a Binga businessman is suing the Zimbabwe Parks and wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) for loss of business.
The businessman, Taurai Marava, is demanding uS$210 000 in damages for loss of potential revenue after ZimParks forfeited his rigs, which got damaged in the process.
The authority seized Marava’s fishing boats seven years ago after accusing him of fishing illegally in breeding areas of the Zambezi basin.
He approached the High Court seeking the release of his fishing rigs and won the case.
ZimParks was forced to release the rigs, but it was discovered that they had been damaged.
In 2019, he went on to file a lawsuit demanding uS$210 000 in compensation for loss of business and damaged rigs.
The matter went to trial last Tuesday before Justice Christopher Dube-Banda where ZimParks was objecting to his demands.
Marava's lawyer Herbert Shenje of Shenje and Company legal Practitioners produced documentation which included invoices, bank accounts and other formal communication that the authority gave to Marava during their engagement after the seizure of his fishing rigs.
The businessman is demanding over uS$210 000 compensation for loss of business and costs incurred in repairing his two fishing rigs that were impounded by the authority for 16 months.
ZimParks seized the rigs in August 2017 after accusing Marava of fishing in a prohibited area of the Zambezi River and demanded uS$2 000 for each boat to be released.
Marava approached the Bulawayo High Court challenging the seizure of his rigs arguing that it was illegal.
High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva ruled in his favour and also rapped Zimparks for impounding the licensed rigs.
In court papers, the businessman said he lost uS$193 784 in potential Kapenta catchings and uS$16 956, 17 in repairs of the vessels after their release by ZimParks.
“The plaintiff would have earned uS$5 per kilogram and consequently lost revenue in the sum of $193 784 through the wrongful actions of the defendant,” Murava submitted.
The government has attempted to tap into fishing as the anchor of Binga’s rural economy, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa even donating fishing rigs to locals.