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| Bushman woman, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© Stephen Corry/Survival |
Government witness Joseph Matlhare has made a mockery of the argument that the Bushmen were evicted because provision of services in their reserve was too expensive'.
The former Director of Wildlife claimed that issuing hunting licences
to Bushmen constituted a 'service'. The Department of Wildlife
terminated supplies of water and other services to Bushmen in the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002, and stopped issuing them with
hunting licences.
When asked yesterday in court what costs were saved by not allowing
Bushmen to hunt, government witness Joseph Matlhare could name only the
costs of paper incurred in printing their hunting licences and the
costs of the yearly trip to the reserve to deliver the licences.
Bushmen living in the reserve were reliant on hunting to feed their
families. Their hunting licences were withdrawn in 2002, and they were
forced into bleak relocation camps where they are dependent on
government handouts.
The Botswana government has also frequently claimed that people living
in the reserve were consulted about the withdrawal of services to the
reserve. However, Matlhare was forced to admit under cross-examination
that the decision to withdraw services had already been made before the
Bushmen were informed of it.
