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Zimbabwe’s bid to reopen ivory trade rejected

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Efforts by Zimbabwe to open trade in elephant leather and ivory failed in a vote at 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) in Panama after 85 percent of global countries opposed the move, arguing that it will fuel wildlife crimes. 

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The proposal, if successful, would have allowed the sale of ivory from national stockpiles of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa which they argued that the profits from the sales were going to benefit communities and support the conservation of wildlife. 

Zimbabwe says it is sitting on a stockpile worth US$600 million that needs to be disposed of, but it failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass. 

“Swift on the heels of the defeat to re-open trade, Parties at Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) CoP19 voted against uplisting of all elephant populations, maintaining the status quo and the ongoing challenge of differing levels of protection across the range of African elephants,” Environmental Investigation Agency organization said in a statement.

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Only 15 governments voted in favour, 83 against, with 17 abstentions.

IFAW deputy President of Conservation, Matthew Collis in another statement said it welcomed the decision which it says will prevent the poaching of elephants for their tusks.

“We have seen the devastating effect of the ivory trade on elephant populations across the world that have been ruthlessly targeted by poachers,” Collins said.

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“Any legal ivory trade provides opportunities for criminals to launder poached elephant ivory into the market.

“Much progress has been made in recent years to close down remaining ivory markets, so we are pleased this decision does not undo such progress.”

“We are sympathetic to the countries seeking to generate income for conservation, but we must find ways to do so without exposing elephant populations to the risk of further poaching,”Collins noted.

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“Sadly, governments look likely to refuse  such an opportunity at this very meeting, given the lack of agreement earlier today for a proposal put forward by Kenya to set up a fund to support elephant conservation in exchange for destruction of ivory stockpiles.”

A similar proposal was rejected at the previous CITES conference in Geneva in 2019

 Meanwhile, countries such as Kenya’s have proposed setting up a Convention on International Trade in a working group to explore the feasibility of “Establishing a fund accessible to range states upon non-commercial disposal of ivory stockpiles”.

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The fund will be envisaged by making resources available to support elephant conservation and research programs, as well as for livelihoods and economic development programs.

“There has never been a better time to find a new approach to supporting elephant range states in their conservation initiatives, ”

“There was a disastrous increase in poaching across Africa after the last ivory stockpile sales in 2008, and there are no obvious buyers this time around.

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“IFAW is pleased that Governments at CITES have chosen to reject repeating that failed experiment, but we urge CITES governments to explore more innovative ways to get resources to elephant range states to protect their wildlife.” Collis concluded.

CoP19 is scheduled to run until Friday.

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National

Government unveils plan to curb road accidents

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, has outlined a series of measures to combat the rising tide of road traffic accidents in the country.

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Zimbabwe has been witnessing a worrying surge in road traffic accidents, with the latest incident claiming 17 lives last week, along Seke road.

Yesterday, Muswere addressed the cabinet, outlining measures to curb road traffic accidents. Below is his statement, word for word:

“So capacitation of the vehicle inspection is ongoing and the sourcing of the vehicle inspection department. Compliance to legislation is also one of the parameters that we are utilising.Standardisation in terms of driving schools, the training of drivers, speed limits as a governance to traffic monitoring, the utilisation of traffic management, the utilisation of cameras for number plate recognition and facial recognition in order to curb over speeding and traffic offences. The capacitation of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in order to apprehend and also deal with traffic offences. Legislation amendments that are taking place in order to ensure that our roads are safe. As the minister (Felix Mhona) has also highlighted that the Civil Protection Unit is being capacitated in order to deal with the challenges that we might not have been able to deal with as part of an architecture under the hall of government approach.”

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Background statistics from the Zimbabwe Republic Police reveal a concerning trend. During the first six months of 2025, the country recorded 28 159 road traffic accidents, up from 25 968 in the same period last year. Fatal crashes also increased by 11% from 784 to 870, while road deaths rose by 4.9% from 1 037 to 1 088. The majority of accidents occur in known danger zones, often due to commuter congestion and erratic driving by public transport operators.

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Two Zimparks rangers injured in elephant attack

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA

Two Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) rangers were injured by elephants in the Sengwa, Chirisa Safari area yesterday, while investigating a reported case of a snared buffalo.

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According to a Zimparks press statement released yesterday by their spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, the incident occurred when the duo encountered a herd of elephants with calves, which charged at them.

A helicopter was reportedly dispatched  to airlift both rangers to Harare for urgent medical attention as of yesterday afternoon.

During the chaotic scene, one ranger suffered a broken arm while fleeing, while the other was gored, sustaining severe abdominal wounds and fractures to his arm and leg.

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Farawo concluded by saying that the authority’s thoughts are with the injured rangers and their families during this challenging time.

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In the community

Relatives convicted of brutal assault of son-in-law over property dispute

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Bulawayo court has concluded the case of a 65-year-old man, Abednico Maposa, who was brutally attacked by his relatives, including his wife and three brothers-in-law, over a property dispute in Swart Village, Inyathi.

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According to the National Prosecuting Authority, four accused individuals – Sikhanyiso Zulu, Isaac Sibanda, Cabangani Zulu, and Lucky Zulu – were on trial for assaulting Maposa.

The State alleged that on February 9, the accused persons attacked Maposa with stones, demanding a fridge and other belongings, and left him unconscious with head and body injuries.

In conclusion, the Tredgold Regional Court Magistrate in Bulawayo acquitted Sikhanyiso Zulu and Isaac Sibanda due to insufficient evidence.

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Cabangani Zulu and Lucky Zulu were convicted and sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, with 6 months suspended and an additional 18 months suspended on condition that they complete 630 hours of community service.

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