We’re now going after the big fish, says govt

By Frank Kimboy The Citizen Reporter

Posted  Friday, January 10  2014 

In Summary

Contacted a day after presenting the report in Dodoma, the outspoken Kahama MP declined to name the legislators accused of either being directly involved in poaching or being beneficiaries of the illegal activity.

Dar es Salaam. The government is now going after the “big fish” in its crackdown on elephant poaching, Natural Resources and Tourism deputy minister Lazaro Nyalandu said yesterday.

Speaking exclusively to The Citizen, Mr Nyalandu refuted claims that the government was targeting insignificant individuals, leaving the masterminds untouched.

He said there were senior officials among the 21 government employees suspended to pave the way for investigations into their alleged roles in the slaughter of elephants in national parks, game reserves and other protected areas.

Mr Nyalandu announced the suspensions on Wednesday, but he neither named those who had been sent home nor said what their positions were, prompting speculation they were all junior employees, most likely game wardens. But he said yesterday that some of those suspended were senior officials heading key sections in the Wildlife Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.

“Some senior government officials and other influential individuals are being investigated as part of wider efforts to stamp out poaching. We cannot name them because investigations are still going on,” Mr Nyalandu said. He added that the public had volunteered information which would help to uncover the masterminds of local poaching networks and their foreign collaborators.

“We want to establish who is behind poaching syndicates. We are sure the suspension of the 21 officials and information volunteered by the public will lead us to the bigwigs.”

Mr Nyalandu said the government had been taking a number of measures to keep poaching in check.

“We frequently transfer security personnel, including police officers and wardens, so that they are not tempted to work in cahoots with poachers if they stay at the same station for a long time,” he said.

The deputy minister urged people with information about poaching or atrocities committed during Operesheni Tokomeza to appear before the commission of inquiry to be appointed soon.

The chairman of the parliamentary Land, Natural Resources and Environment Committee, Mr James Lembeli, said when tabling the report of a select committee in the House last month that some people who spoke to the team claimed that a number of MPs were involved in poaching.

However, Mr Lembeli did not name the lawmakers.

Contacted a day after presenting the report in Dodoma, the outspoken Kahama MP declined to name the legislators accused of either being directly involved in poaching or being beneficiaries of the illegal activity.

What I read was just a summary of our 400-plus-page report and other accompanying documents. The names of the MPs and other details are in the documents. Since the report is now in the hands of the Speaker, I cannot divulge anything more... it’s up to the Speaker to release more information or not,” Mr Lembeli said.
Efforts to contact the Clerk of the National Assembly failed yesterday as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered. The government’s decision to suspend and investigate 21 officials came two days before today’s release of a new elephant census report.
Numbers of the pachyderms have fallen sharply in Tanzania in recent years due to poaching.
Elephants are still being slaughtered in national parks and game reserves for their tusks despite a worldwide ban on the ivory trade.
Tanzania’s elephant population has dropped from an estimated 109,000 in 2009 to around 70,000 in 2012, and today’s report is likely to paint an even bleaker picture. According to the Tanzania Elephant Protection Society, around 30 elephants are killed in the country every day, adding up to about 11,000 animals each year.
It is estimated that the country has lost half its elephant population since 2007, and it is feared that elephants could be extinct in just seven years.
The government last year launched Operesheni Tokomeza to curb poaching, but it was suspended after the Lembeli team’s report detailed widespread abuses, including murder, torture and extortion, during the operation. Four cabinet ministers were forced out after agencies under their watch were implicated in the Operesheni Tokomeza abuses.
They are Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha (Defence and National Service), Dr Emmanuel Nchimbi (Home Affairs), Mr Khamis Kagasheki (Natural Resources and Tourism) and Dr Mathayo David (Livestock Decelopment and Fisheries).
Additional reporting by Peter Nyanje