THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) board has appointed Edson Chidziya as the substantive director–general with effect from May 1, 2013.
Report by Staff Reporter
Chidziya, who was Zimparks conservation director, replaces the late Vitalis Chadenga who died in Harare last year after a short illness.
Chadenga had replaced Morris Mutsambiwa as director-general in May 2010 following the expiry of his second term of office.
Chidziya, who holds an MSc Environmental and Ecological Sciences degree from Britain and a BSc Agriculture Honours degree from the University of Zimbabwe, has a wealth of experience in the conservation field spanning 23 years. ZimParks chairperson George Pangeti hailed Chidziya’s appointment saying it was good for the country’s conservation as he had potential to unlock new funding avenues to protect the abundant wildlife resource.
Chidziya’s appointment came at a time game poaching has markedly risen to unsustainable levels across the country. Zimparks has also failed to raise funding for wildlife census over the last 10 years. The last game count was reportedly done sometime in 2002.
