The population of Haut-Lomami in general, and that of the Malemba Nkulu territory, in particular, thanked the President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, for taking to heart the natural disaster situation that has hit this country for some time , following the elephant wanderings resulting in huge damage and loss of life.
Haut-Lomami provincial deputy Paul Ngoy Nsenga, who is staying in the capital, said in a meeting with the ACP that, on the instructions of the President of the Republic, the chief of staff, Vital Kamerhe, has already asked the Minister of National Solidarity and Humanitarian Actions to ask him to assess the damage, in order to provide, if necessary, social assistance to the victims of this calamity.
The provincial deputy also expressed his gratitude to the president of the National Assembly, Jeanine Mabunda Lioko who, seized by the national deputy Félix Kabange Numbi, pronounced, during the plenary of Monday, May 20th, for the deployment of a parliamentary commission of inquiry on this situation and on the lightning which caused death of men.
He reminded, moreover, that between 2016 and May 17, 2019, more than 35,000 households were victims of this disaster due to the ravaging of elephants in the Upemba Park. In addition, he added, 80% of fields from different cultures have been devastated and more than 73,000 students are currently dropping out of school in Malemba Nkulu.
Deputy Paul Ngoy Nsenga noted that the disaster has also led to a steep rise in food prices including maize and cassava grown on the site but become rare because the fields are devastated by elephants, which in addition prevent villagers to access them following their threatening presence.
As a solution to this natural disaster, the elected provincial of Malemba-Nkulu came back on some tracks already drawn by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) including the evacuation of small villages illegally settled by groups Maï-Mai 'inside the Park by providing five most vulnerable villages with a set of measures to mitigate human-elephant conflicts to reduce threats.
There is also urgent action to strengthen eco-guards, which are currently only fifty in number and equipment, to purchase additional GPS collars (in addition to six that already exist) and to increase the number hours of helicopter flight to track elephants in real time and away from villages. The possibility of electrifying the border of the Park or placing fences around villages and fields is also planned.
(CKS/Yes)