TOURISM Minister Rodney Sikumba has called on Honorary Wildlife Police Offices (HWPOs) to be show their presence and relevance to the wildlife conservation efforts in the tourism sector.
Speaking in meeting with the coordinators of Lusaka, Southern and Northwestern Region at his officer, the Minister called on HWPOs to be conducting regular patrols to register their existence.
He said officers that fail to be equal to the task risk being deregistered from the gazette in the year 2024.
The Minister said with regular patrol in wildlife conflict areas, it would be very helpful for the HWPOs to monitor the movement of certain wildlife species that cause havoc in communities even before the animals invade these communities.
He said the Department of National Parks (DNPW)will soon be developing short code or hotline for communities to call when he hit by a human wildlife conflict.
Mr. Sikumba observed that there HWPOs that are on record of abusing their positions by intimidating regular officers from the DNPW, which he wants to be stopped.
And HWPOs Lusaka Region Coordinator Ashishi Patel said there is need to have a clear reporting structure for the officers.
He said there are officers that have done enough to support the efforts of the department but there is need to restructure things as some people have grown out age to carry out field operations.
Mr. Patel old members still remain relevant by offering financial support to operations.
And Mr. Guy Robinson who coordinates Mazabuka, Monze and parts of the Greater Kafue Ecosystem said DNPW officers need to be strict by checking HWPOs entering protected areas.
He expressed concern that the officers manning gates are doing thorough checks by asking for Identity cards of some HWPOs.
He expressed concern that even police offices from Zambia Police Services have little or no knowledge about the existence of HWPOs, thereby creating a challenge when they want to mount roadblocks in wildlife crime routes.
