How Corruption and Mismanagement is affecting Natural Resources Management in Southern Africa:
...ve been reported by Alastair Leithead of the BBC dated 11 March 2005 that more than 60% of the population live on poverty in houses built of pole and dagga. All rural electrification projects were neglected that was going to reduce pressure on forest resources as most people in the rural areas use firewood as a source of energy. The only substitutes are crop residues and animal dung. Yet both have a value as a source of organic and nutrient inputs to the soil which, in turn, are the critical factor for sustainable agriculture. Cycles of degradation and resources depletion are observed as population grow, harvesting of fuel wood exceeds the regeneration rate of forests and woodlands as is the only alternative source of energy. The forest is ‘mined’ and as fuel wood becomes scarce, crop residues and grass are used for fuel causing circle of environmental problems. The poor remain in their poverty exploiting natural resources as firewood and seeing that the governments desert the poor and sanction poverty alleviation projects, illegal activities comparable to gold panning, a pouching, and poor agriculture practice proliferates since the people possess no alternative other than fighting for their existence. Generally when natural resources management and development projects are funded by foreign agencies or by the government because of corruption, the project may end up receiving only ¼ of the funds at its initial stage as the funds will be disappearing into the hands of corrupt people from the top level to the ground. In all the countries in the region, civil servants or government workers are lowly paid as compared to the private sector causing them to be corrupt. Since in this bracket are policy makers it makes them not motivated by their salaries and will not perform designated duties to their expected standards. They are exposed to corruption at times forced to take bribes at the expense of the environment because the salaries is not enough. In national parks and conservancies they have been reports of park security collaborating with poachers allowing them to hunt endangered species such as white rhino and elephants in exchange for bribes to back up their salaries. Similar thing is experienced to activities that are carried out by industries and companies concerning tapping of natural resources and waste disposal. Policy makers are bribed by companies to approve of their activities that do not meet the obligated standards on waste disposal, emissions, and tapping of resources. A project that needs a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be carried out before operations initiates is allowed to carry on with its operations although devastating to the environment. Issuing of licenses to carry out certain activities that needs a full EIA to be produced are approved without any report produced because of corruption and have lead to a environmental disasters such as deforestation, heavy soil erosion and siltation of water resources down stream. Follow-ups of projects to monitor if activities are in line with the environmental legislations and policies are not done appropriately as the officials have become unfaithful. Companies find it easier, cheaper and less strenuous to carrot responsible authorities than to incorporate the expenses of managing the environment like recycling and treatment of the waste before disposal if they accept bribes. In addition to corrupt authorities, unqualified personal occupy top positions of influence and of policymaking that craft policies weak and ineffectual in management of the environment and natural resources. The reason is that most influential positions are occupied by corrupt, greedy personal that only employ people that are a close member of their families and friends even if they are unskilled for the job. Politicians and government ministers are always appearing in newspapers for corruption benefiting themselves and close relatives. There is need for qualified professionals such that there will be transformation for the good especially with technological improvements that require constant alteration to meet existing standards. Draconian and harmful policies are passed in parliaments for benefits of a few individuals at the expense of the environment, the nation and the region at large. On land issues government officials allocate themselves land and engage in activities that are detrimental to the environment and no one can voice in contrary. In Zimbabwe government officials have been allocating themselves farms and engage in poor farming methods leading to rapid soil erosion and no one could voice according to a report by Rodrick Mukumbira of News from Africa in the April 2003 issue. One of the concerns that have been silent about is the issue of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) mostly local and regional as well as some international. The concern of their agenda in the region is questionable as their number in the field of natural resources management is constantly increasing in the region but the environmental problems are still intensifying. Everyone may be asking this question: why is it so? NGOs are registered with the governments and are known to be non profit benefiting the local, national and regional groups and communities to reduce environmental problems through environmental awareness, education to the public, sourcing funds to help conservation projects realise their goals, involved in capacity building projects and help in many projects off healing the land resources. Many local NGOs are diverting their tricks to natural resources management because many governments, international agencies, funding organisations and big firms have paid attention and interests to projects that are involved in natural resources conservation. People are forming NGOs as a source of income ...