'Corrupt' Zimbabwe officials accused of faking elephant tally

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The Independent
By Basildon Peta, Southern Africa Correspondent
15 September 2004


Senior Zimbabwean officials have inflated the official number of elephants in the country so they can benefit from the ivory trade, a conservationist said yesterday. Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwean Conservation Taskforce said the elephant population had fallen to 60,000 at the most, yet the government put the figure at more than 100,000.

Mr Rodrigues said corrupt officials wanted to dupe the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) into allowing Zimbabwe to continue trading in ivory when it meets in Bangkok next month. Some are believed to have stockpiled ivory from animals shot in national parks and private game parks seized from their white owners. "It is all about greed and the ongoing looting of natural resources," Mr Rodrigues said.

The Environment and Tourism Minister, Francis Nhema, said there were more than enough elephants in Zimbabwe, accusing Mr Rodrigues of hatching a conspiracy theory. There is no suggestion Mr Nhema is accused of illegal trading.

Mr Nhema said: "I know that he has teamed up with some people from outside this country to campaign for elephants to be classified in Appendix 1.We will fight against that because what use will be the elephants to us if they don't bring money to help the communities? We have more than enough elephants."
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