THE College of African Wildlife Management Mweka (CAWM) is set to
contribute significantly in the war against poaching and illegal
wildlife trade and has initiated a paramilitary training.The move comes as the world is highly
challenged with illegal wildlife trade, more prevalent in Africa and
Tanzania, which is a home to one of the largest wildlife estates in the
world.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Selestine Gesimba, said to
address poaching challenges in a holistic way, they would strategise
through structural reforms and strengthen partnerships and networking.
He urged the Mweka management to ensure
it remains a leader in the field of wildlife management and wildlife
tourism across East Africa and beyond.
“We appreciate that this college is one
area where the Government of Tanzania is committed to train wildlife and
tourism professionals equipped with requisite knowledge, skills and
ethics necessary for combating wildlife crime,” said Mr Gesimba.
The permanent secretary, who was
addressing the 51st graduation ceremony that had 142 graduands, asked
other stakeholders to join hands in the war. He noted that the college
has showcased impressive achievements of its mandate and entrusted tasks
as it has, since 1961 produced more than 6,000 graduands from 52
countries worldwide.
In an effort to equip the college with
more equipment, Mr Gesimba said he will make sure it gets two trucks for
field training. The college has so far received only two, out of four
that were promised by the former president, Mr Jakaya Kikwete.
He said the ministry will expedite
preparations of the regulations that would stipulate modality and
formula for determining amount of contribution to be made by sister
conservation institutions to the college.
In the spirit of making the wildlife
conservation paramilitary, CAWM Rector, Professor Alexander Songorwa
said the college now has a paramilitary course as part of the training.
Professor Songorwa said the college is
in the process of purchasing a military model of Iveco truck and a
trailer with support and cooperation from the Tanzania People’s Defence
Forces (TPDF).
He said the college, which is a centre
of excellence in East Africa, regularly reviews its curricula by
involving stakeholders to incorporate emerging challenges and market
demands.
The rector unveiled also that the
college that offers 10 programmes from basic certificate to post
graduate diploma is in the process to develop a master degree curriculum
in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University of the United
Kingdom.
Professor Songorwa said there are some
positive changes in the college such as field transport, camping,
teaching, student accommodation and power supply.
He added that a generator that had not
worked for three years has been renovated. He said after major
renovations of cafeteria that are going on, next would be other college
buildings. CAWM is in negotiation with National Housing Corporation
(NHC) to build more hostels with a total capacity of 400 students.
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