The Sunday Mail
Garikai Mazara
Extra Editor
Mukanga National Park lies some 300km north of Harare, most of the journey there through rugged terrain. It is part of the Greater Chewore Game Park.
Unless you are a hunter, the names Chewore and Mukanga might not be of much interest to you. However, when we reached out to Chief Chisunga, asking him if there could be any stories of interest to us, as a paper, and broadly to the nation, as we intended to visit his area, he was, for all intents and purposes, excited.
For his area holds significant archeological interest in the form of prehistoric dinosaur footprints.
How could he be so sure that the footprints were pre-historic, we prodded him. “Archeologists have been here and they have made their studies and they said the prints are, indeed, pre-historic,” he asserted.
Culturally you don’t question a chief. Or his wisdom.
It was on the strength of his word — and his assurances that he would show us the pre-historic prints — that we drove the arduous 300km journey to Mukanga.
We passed through Chief Chisunga’s homestead first as he was to accompany us where the dino prints were. Unfortunately, we were told, the chief had accompanied some visitors on a hunting trip and would not be back for three days, at the least.
We made enquiries as to where we could find Mukanga and were duly directed by the chief’s wife.
Arriving at Mukanga, we introduced ourselves to the Parks officers and stated our mission. The response was terse, curt or blunt — whichever suits your fancy. No clearance from Harare, no passage to the footprints.
With no cellphone coverage, we had to drive back some 30km to Angwa River where we raised Carol Washaya-Moyo, the National Parks Authority public relations person.
Maybe it is the training they receive at National Parks; her answer was equally terse, curt or blunt.
“I can’t help you in those circumstances. You have to come back to Harare and get clearance to visit Mukanga.”
Never mind the 300km back to Harare, half of that journey in roads that you would not want to travel twice, it was the absence of common sense that was shocking. From both officials of the national park.
Ok, for argument’s sake, if National Parks were so diligent about their duties, such that they refuse media access to tourism-promoting sites (never mind the absence of protocol), how come elephants are dying on a daily basis through cyanide poisoning?
And remember that in 2010 a number of them were gunned to death in Gonarezhou, in a poaching activity which remains unresolved and a mystery up to this day.
Two years ago, hundreds of elephants — and other animals down the food chain — were poisoned in Hwange, a catastrophe that grabbed international attention and condemnation.
Only a few weeks ago, we were seized with the poisoning — yet again — of elephants in the same Hwange National Park.
This is the same National Parks that presides over the home where Cecil the lion was killed. The same National Parks that was in the news last week after Africa’s “largest” elephant was killed in a hunt.
So it leaves you wondering, doesn’t it, that if this same National Parks is so diligent, law-abiding and very protective so as to deny journalists access to dinosaur footprints in Chewore Game Park, then why do these atrocities happen right before their eyes?
Fair and fine, it is procedural that when one has to enter any national park, especially us the media, you don’t just barge in, announce your arrival and do whatever you want.
You follow laid-down protocol. We are very much aware of that.
To cut a long story short, indeed, Mukanga National Park is home to some pre-historic dinosaur footprints, which were discovered around 1984 and have since been profiled internationally.
This is the info we managed to glean from the notice board in the Parks office, with the officer-in-charge saying this was the best he could do for us.
It is ancient thinking to deny Press, let alone our State newspapers, access to products they should be packaging for us. For exactly this reason, the UNWTO in conjunction with the Government of Tunisia, will be hosting the 4th International Tourism & Media Conference, in Tunis on November 12 to seek ways and strategies of drafting the media into our continental brand policy formulation and implementation. It would be necessary to have Parks as participants and I will speak to my sister, Hon Oppah Muchinguri, about this. — Engineer Walter Mzembi, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
