By Derick Tsimba

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is  being unfair on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on the sale of elephants, Ministry of Environment, Climate Tourism and Hospitality, Permanent Secretary has said.

Giving oral evidence in Harare today, Permanent Secretary, Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the country had a position regarding CITES ban on elephants export and trade.

“We have agreed at the founding principles of CITES as a block but there are very unfair Civil Society Organizations which gang up on SADC,” he said.

Munodawafa said CITES had made an unfair decision in that other countries had been allowed to trade their elephants but Africa is only allowed to trade within the continent.

Africa is only allowed to trade within the African Elephant Coalition comprising of 32 countries with a collective population of about 34 000 elephants.

Munodawafa also said Zimbabwe was finding it difficult to pull out of CITES as the country would not be able to trade with other countries that are in CITES.

The African Elephant Coalition came together to safe guard the elephant population from threats of illegal international ivory trade.

CITES is a multilateral treaty enforced in 1975 to protect endangered plants and animals.