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Urgent appeal for Sinamatella
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
September 06, 2005

Following our last "Good News" report about the abundance of water at Main Camp in Hwange National Park, we have just discovered that the situation in Sinamatella is very different.

We are being inundated with desperate appeals for help because there is NO water in Sinamatella. We are informed that National Parks has run out of diesel to run the pumps and all the water holes have been reduced to pools of mud.

People who have just returned from Sinamatella have reported seeing about 200 zebra and a number of antelope standing around a dry water hole, staring into it as if willing the water to appear. The animals look extremely forlorn, thirsty and dehydrated. They know there is no water anywhere else in the vicinity and in their dehydrated state, they don't have the energy to walk any great distance in search of water, so they wait. There is no doubt that they will all die of thirst if something is not done urgently.

Fuel is very scarce in Zimbabwe but we have managed to find some. The problem now is that we have to pay for it. National Parks have no funds, either to buy fuel for the pumps or to pay their employees' wages. We were told this morning that the employees in Sinamatella have all absconded because they haven't been paid.

In order to get the situation under control, we need at least 5 000 litres of diesel. We have found the diesel and we are now appealing to anyone who can help us pay for it. It costs US$ 1.00 or ZWD 55 000.00 per litre so we are attempting to raise US$ 5 000 or ZWD 275 000 000.

If anybody is in a position to help, either with money or diesel, please contact me urgently on the numbers below or email galorand@mweb.co.zw.

Visit the ZCTF fact sheet

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