Lodge owners operating along the Kavango River in the Mukwe Constituency have expressed concern over access challenges that have cut off some areas.

They raised their concerns with Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Anselm Marungu.

Lodges along the Kavango River are popular tourist destinations. Travellers visit the areas for the scenic beauty, the abundant wildlife and the variety of birds. 

But lodge owners are unhappy with some of the day-to-day activities, especially in the Bwabwata National Park. One complainant is Cameron Wilson, co-owner of Nunda River Lodge.

"Certain roads in the national parks have been blocked off because, for example, our Mahango core area is a Ramsar site which is world-famous for birding, and due to the restrictions of the roads now, we cannot access certain areas where there is bird life. So, our guests are unhappy because they can't see it. There's no sign to say no entry or whatever. We've been using those roads for the last 25 years."

Some lodge owners claim that they are even receiving fines from the ministry for accessing certain roads. 

"While we appreciate there's got to be rules and regulations, there are certain things which we've been doing for years which are not a problem. Now, all of a sudden, it's a problem."

Another is a new lodge that opened within the buffalo core area of the park. 

"They proclaim to have exclusivity or exclusive rights to the park. They have vessels in the park and boats in the park, and they want to stop us from coming in and accessing the park, which is a little bit disturbing, for we believe things were not done correctly in order for him to be in the park."

The matter has since reached the courts. 

"When we challenged it, we were asking for the concession documents to be shared because it's a public document and nobody would share it. The lawyers would not share it and so on, because everything is just closed up. After spending almost N$2.6 million on lawyers," said co-owner of Nunda River Lodge, Eugene Ryneke.

The lodge owners are calling for a second road into the Mahango Game Park to allow them access to the floodplains. 

They are also complaining about the noise pollution caused by some local businesses. 

Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Anselm Marungu says he has heard their concerns.