President Ian Khama is said to be visiting the Gcwihaba caves not for leisure but for exploration and fostering collaboration between museum professionals and international experts.
This was said by the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama when answering a question in Parliament on Monday. He said President Khama has also been instrumental in obtaining grants and assistances from private sector through his publicity of the caves.
“This has assisted Botswana in developing and investigating the area faster than would have been possible as government funding is limited. Gcwihaba caves were declared National Monument in 2006 on reasons of being a unique geological formation of beauty containing stalagmites and stalactites that also supports unusually large colonies of the four resident bat species. The species of bats found at Gcwihaba caves contributes to the ecological balance by controlling insect numbers in area as they are insect eaters. My ministry is taking steps to preserve the caves”, said the minister.
Khama said the archaeological significance of Gcwihaba caves is derived from archaeological sites found around the caves. Khama was responding to a question from MP for Kgatleng West, Gilbert Mangole who had asked the minister about the significance of the caves and the likely impact of human activity on the area with respect to the occasional leisure expeditions by the President.