Back to Index

Hwange crisis update
Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF)
August 18, 2006

I have recently returned from South Africa where I collected a large consignment of goods for Hwange National Park. Duncan Paul of Dunadventures in South Africa donated a massive 8,9 million Zimbabwe dollars worth of spares, engines etc. This is equivalent to about USD11 000. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to Duncan for this incredibly generous donation. The two new engines and one monopump were delivered to The Hide and the balance of the spares were delivered to Owen Mangwana at Main Camp who is in charge of water operations and is responsible for the upkeep of all the pumps and engines in the park.

In addition to this we were also donated a large quantity of filters and some gate valves, used tyres, nuts and bolts and silicon sealer by Rob Melville and Syd Kelly of Valverite in South Africa. Our warmest gratitude goes to Rob and Syd for this generous donation valued at about 1.2 million Zimbabwe dollars or USD1 500.

I am very reluctant to confess that I made two trips to South Africa to collect these spare parts because the first time I went, the parts were wrong and had to be returned. This was easier said than done because it involved obtaining permission from the Reserve Bank and Zimra to export the goods back to South Africa. A big thank you to Brett MacDonald of Flame Lily Tours who very kindly paid the export duty when I returned the first lot. Hopefully, Brett will soon receive a refund from the South African customs department. Thanks also to Maha Dopplefeld of Friends of Hwange for all her assistance and to Hennie and Lodwyk van As of EHD in Johannesburg for their patience in exchanging the spares.

Nicholas Duncan of the SAVE foundation in Australia came to our rescue yet again and paid the customs duty for us. Thanks very much, Nicholas. We are trying to get this duty refunded but it had to be paid at the time in order to get the spares across the border.

There are many hidden costs involved in travelling to South Africa to collect donations such as fuel, toll fees, food and accommodation and there is also the long stretch from Beit Bridge, through to Hwange and back to Harare. Our last trip was made possible by local artist, Ant Fynn who organized a Wild Brushes art exhibition at Borrowdale Brooke to raise funds for us. We are extremely grateful to Ant for all his hard work and also to all the artists who donated paintings for auction: Ant Fynn himself, my wife, Cheryl Rodrigues, Sheena Chadwick, Sarah Fynn, Margi Grobelaar, Sue Jarvis, Delene Lambert, Narina Nel and Nigel Saunders.

Thanks also to John Gillon of the Hwange Conservation Society (UK) who helped us with travelling expenses and to Barry Wolhuter of The Hide who supplied me with fuel to get back to Harare.

With the exception of overhaul gasket sets and cylinder head gaskets which were out of stock when we collected the spares, we now have enough spare parts to get all the pump engines up and running in Hwange. The only cloud on the horizon is the shortage of fuel. We will have to ensure a steady flow of fuel to the park and we are trying to raise funds for this.

We are currently in the process of raising funds to have windmills installed at each pan. These windmills cost
R33 00 each but will be a big saving in the long run because they will work in conjunction with the engines. When the wind is blowing, the windmills will take over from the engines and this will save on fuel and maintenance costs.

Ron and Charline Henwood have very kindly donated 14 two way radios which will be used by anti poaching patrols and by the people working on the water project. This is a very valuable donation because it will increase the efficiency of the staff up in Hwange and make life a lot easier for everyone. All that is required is for the frequencies to be changed and Ian Chatterton of Instalite in Bulawayo is doing this free of charge. Thanks very much to Ron, Charline and Ian.

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force

Visit the ZCTF fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP