WILD BW: LAND, GAMBLING AND TOURISM, NAVIGATING THE HEAD WINDS
The growing interest in tourism is bringing into sharp relief the level of unpreparedness of our system to handle the very sensitive issues such as land and the impact of gambling on productivity. Land first. We have commented in this column before that the ultimate aim of many of the interests that masquerade as friends of conservation in one way or another is about land (see our comment entitled “Its Land Stupid” www.wildbw.org.bw). Last week at the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference, the Chairman of the Tawana Land Board, Reamogetse Yekenge briefed the industry about plans by the land board to review the NG32 Management plan. The planned review itself is a bone of contention and compounds the tension now existing caused by a seemingly complex conflict of interest. The lines are not easy to untangle, so we shall not try to unpack. Suffice it to say the protagonists, if you could call them that include, indigenous people who want normalisation of ancestral rights either as home steads or ploughing fields, community trusts who have had prior authorisation but have been unable to exercise claims or are somehow implicated in illegal land allocation and some investors, some of whom are alleged to have been allocated land even as there has been some kind of moratorium on land allocation pending the review of the management plan. Additionally, concern on request for change of land use which have flooded the land board appears to have triggered the plan to review the management plan. Sifting through all these interests is not an easy task. What is evident is that there seems to be very little trust on the integrity of the Land board. There are those who suspect it of being conflicted and intent on normalising the presence of some players in the area at the expense of others. There are also those who are not happy at the slow pace at which the Land Board is moving to clear this problem and allow the tourism industry to function. The bottom line is, land has become the resource of contention in the tourism space. How these conflicts are handled is critical. There is palpable fear in some quarters that those who have the financial power to engage in legal battles maybe the ones who will benefit. The land board is currently engaged in public consultations on the review of the management plan. In her presentation to the HATAB conference, the Chairman was none committal as to how the impasse will be resolved. But she was adamant that the intention is to ensure that there is no overuse of the land which would affect the quality of the environment and thus impact on tourism. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the 1990’s land grabs in Mogoditshane which ultimately led to drastic measures being taken instill some kind of control. Except this time, there seems to be a tiptoeing around the problem considering what is at stake.
Is gambling being given an unfair bad name? Well apparently not according to the majority of views at HATAB conference in Maun. They claim that addiction to gambling in Botswana is impacting negatively on productivity. But in a presentation on Gambling as a catalyst for tourism growth, the Chief Executive Officer, Gambling Authority Moruntshi Kemorwale was at pains to justify gambling as an economic player in Botswana despite its social ills. He said it is clear that many Batswana were gambling externally and thus exporting the money until provision was made for them to gamble locally. But from the business community a very real concern was raised of the drastic drop in productivity due to gambling. Participants felt that gambling habits have led to truancy and general neglect. There was also concern that very little social support is offered to those addicted. What emerged is that gabling as an economic activity threatens to be on a collision course with tourism. From the Gambling Authority’s point of view, the negative social implications of gambling are outweighed by the returns that it brings to the industry. It is a paradox that even as the tourism industry solidifies its position as the number one industry in Botswana, it has to navigate this minefield. According to Kemorwale, gambling in Botswana is not a problem. He is adamant that the majority of gamblers in Botswana are not at any risk.
The Botswana government is determined to diversify the tourism industry and derive greater value out of it. More however needs to be done to clear that path. HATAB does very well to create a platform for these hard conversations. Even as the new Chairman of HATAB Lawrence Lecha assumes the reigns, we expect him to engage government and all relevant stakeholders to see to it that the industry cleans up all elements that may put its sustainability at risk.
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