WINDHOEK – A row has erupted between the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and Erindi Game Reserve over a request by the private game reserve for a permit to translocate 200 elephants.

The rationale behind Erindi’s application is to decongest the national parks whose jumbo-carrying capacity is stretched to the limit.

This has culminated in ele-phants straying from parks causing human suffering by devouring whole crop fields.

In some cases, stray elephants have trampled villagers while uprooting water infrastructure in their quest to find water.

If approved the purpose of the planned jumbo relocation could be two-fold: To promote tourism while the elephants’ appetite could help curtail bush encroachment.

Elephant populations have exploded because of restrictions on culling and the sale of elephant products imposed by CITES resulting in elephant numbers swelling to between 4 000 to 5 000 in Caprivi alone, while Etosha National Park has an estimated 2 000. These figures have resulted in the elephant-carrying capacity of the different habitats being overstretched. Consequently, this has worsened human/wildlife conflict.

Gert Joubert, co-owner and CEO of Erindi Private Game Reserve, says officials at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism seem nonchalant and have ignored a litany of applications to have elephants from either Caprivi or Etosha trans-located to the private game reserve to ease congestion in these parks.

Arguably, the largest privately-owned game reserve in Africa teeming with a staggering variety of game such as white and black rhino, giraffe, leopard, hippo and the rare brown hyena, Erindi says the reason it wants so many elephants is to boost tourism.

If the plan were to be given the greenlight, the elephants would not only lure tourists to the reserve but their massive appetite could help curtail bush encroachment prevalent at Erindi in Erongo.

If MET okays the plan appended with well-researched scientific documents, the 200 elephants could be trucked onto a piece of heavily vegetated land measuring 20 000 hectares that is enough to accommodate and feed 400 elephants.

But Joubert’s appeal to be granted a permit seems to have fallen on deaf ears despite the fact that a few years ago the same bureaucrats, upon inspection and being impressed by Erindi, readily okayed the translocation of various game including a small herd of elephants.

After a mountain of applications could not even induce letters of acknowledgment from MET, Erindi made an application to Sabi Sand Wildtuin in South Africa, which is a conglomeration of 35 game reserves that form one single entity of 55 000 hectares.

Interestingly, his application to have 200 elephants was accepted by Sabi Sand Wildtuin in the vicinity of the world-renowned Kruger National Park but MET has steadfastly thwarted this plan.

Gavin Hulett, representing Sabi Sand Wildtuin, had noted in his acceptance letter that since 1993, elephant numbers have risen from a meagre 60 to an excess of 1 400 during the last count in 2007.

“This puts the elephant density in SSW at nearly three times that of the Kruger National Park,” he said.

With this in mind, the Executive Committee of SSW undertook the decision to translocate approximately 500 elephants of which 200 would have been brought to Erindi had MET given the greenlight.

In late July, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, informed Erindi through its lawyers Van Der Westhuizen & Greef that Government Gazette No 4236 dated April 1, 2009 Notice No. 60 puts a moratorium on the issuing of permits for the import into Namibia of elephants.

Other animals listed are: Lion, leopard, cheetah, crocodile (captive bred), duiker, eland, giraffe, wild dog, hartebeest, kudu, oryx, springbok and steenbok.

“In view thereof, the ministry is therefore, not in a position to issue you with an import permit for the elephants,” Shangula had stated.

Yesterday, several efforts to get further clarification on this issue proved futile as both the PS and Ben Beytell, Director of Parks and Wildlife Management, as well as his deputy, Colgar Sikopo, were not immediately available for comment.

During a highly charged press conference Joubert said: “It’s time Swapo start kicking butt and kick-out dead wood in the civil service … Swapo will not lose an election on ideology, but they will lose by the counter-revolutionary actions and decisions of some of the bureaucrats and civil servants who are totally incompetent, and by bad service delivery which will sabotage the ruling party.” 

His frustration stems from the fact that he has spent N$200 000 in legal fees coupled with numerous applications for permits and scientifically backed motivations with no end in sight to his predicament.

He also charged that MET officials are inaccessible.

Though New Era was unable to get official comment a senior MET official said the issue is so ‘sensitive’ that several meetings have already taken place between the Minister of Environment and Tourism Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and State House.

The source, who requested anonymity, said MET did not refuse Erindi’s proposal outright but had offered the reserve an offer to buy 200 elephants decleared “problem animals” at N$20 000 each.

These elephants would have come from Caprivi and from Mangetti Ranch where there were 60 such ‘problem animals’ but Erindi refused this offer saying such animals would bring it a problem.

In principle, MET bureaucracy have no qualms about Erindi’s proposal but it objects to plans to bring 200 elephants from South Africa when Namibia already has so many wild elephants.

The bone of contention is Erindi wants elephants from Etosha that tourist-friendly and not the wild bunch from areas where they are not accustomed to tourists and could instead imperil their lives.