2015-07-13Staff Report 2 Windhoek The Minister of Environment and Tourism has urged the local media to respect Prince Harry’s privacy while he is in the country. Harry, who is fifth in line for the British throne, is on a summer job in the Kunene region in north-western Namibia, where he is learning to protect endangered rhino and rare desert elephants. The 30-year-old left Britain at the end of June and will reportedly spend the summer in the Kunene doing conservation work. Minister Pohamba Shifeta said Prince Harry “is here on a private visit and he does not want anything [to do with the media], but as a ministry we will find a way to discuss some matters related to conservation [with him]. “We will be able to meet and discuss some of these things. He enjoys coming to Namibia and will continue coming here. As government, we have prominent people coming and when they say they don’t want to meet anybody, or the media, let us just respect them. When the time comes, they will be open to meet with the press.” Prince Harry chose Namibia as his destination of choice over hundreds of other important conservation projects after reading about the work of the Namibia Nature Conservancy and Save the Rhino Trust. He is apparently also keen to learn more about the Ovahimba people, who live in Kaokoland, one of the least populated areas in north-west Namibia, a mountainous area which stretches to the border of Angola. Known also as the “Warrior Prince”, Harry will spend part of his three-month trip to Africa helping conservationists protect endangered animals, especially the black rhino. His visit is bound to raise awareness of the problem at a time when Namibia faces escalating levels of rhino and elephant poaching. Forty-one people have been arrested for suspected rhino poaching since June 2015. More than 60 cases of rhino poaching have been reported this year; of these 54 were in the Ethosha National Park. Prince Harry is also expected to travel to Botswana before returning to the UK in September. 2015-07-13Staff Report 2
