Ntibenda and his regional security team visited the hunting block whose ownership is being contested by an American tourism company, Wengert Windrose Safaris Limited and Dubai based Arab rich family owned, Green Miles Safaris Limited, last weekend and ordered the parties to respect existing contracts.
“Let both parties respect existing contracts of the hunting block so that this place should return to normalcy,” Ntibenda said after meeting community leaders, politicians and company officials in the area.
The RC’s decision contradicts that of Prof Maghembe who has defended Green Miles ownership of the block as per a March 2015 court ruling.
The WWS entered into a contract with 26 villages neighbouring the block in August 2014 and which is due to expire next October. Ntibenda and his regional team want the deal respected as preferred by communities while the Prof Maghembe argues that it’s the court’s ruling that has allowed GMS to retain the block.
During the visit, the block’s warden in charge, Alfred Mwakivike and Kitumenie Ward Councillor, Timotheo Laizer told the regional security team members that uncertainty is gripping the area after an eviction order has been given to WWS.
In a letter from the Ministry to WWS dated May 9, 2016, the Americans owned company was required to leave the block by May 31, 2016 but it has since filed an appeal to contest the order.
“Apart from having a contract with 26 villages, the company has also already paid annual fees till 2017 ahead of the hunting season which starts later this month,” Mwakivike said. The WWS has paid US$ 100,000 (over 200m/-) for the block.
Green Miles Safaris which was evicted from the block in 2014 by the then Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Lazaro Nyalandu for gross violation of wildlife life after a video emerged on the company’s website showing abuse of animals and killing of infants.
Wingert Windrose was got the block thereafter but GMS opted to seek High Court intervention which succeeded last March last year when an order was given for the block to be restored to the company.
Winding up his ministry's 2016/2017 budget estimates in parliament last month, Prof Maghembe who was railed by rowdy opposition legislators said his ministry had done nothing wrong in clearing Green Miles Safaris Limited to continue hunting in the country, saying it simply was fulfilling a court order.
Prof Maghembe said before 2011, the government had divided Natron hunting block into two - Natron North and Natron South which were further sub-divided into four blocks with GMS Limited getting one.
Prof Maghembe cleared himself of any wrongdoing pointing out that as minister he has no powers to revoke a licence of a company or individual who has been cleared by the court.
"What we did is to adhere to the court ruling," he insisted, adding that the government is in the process of lodging a court case against the culprits who were shown in the DVD violating hunting procedures.
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