Part 6/13:
The conversation underscores a pervasive issue—corruption and the misallocation of funds. Billy and Simon express frustrations that large amounts of money are allocated for conservation but often diverted at high levels of government or illegal networks. Simon laments, “The money involved is staggering, but it goes into the wrong hands—governments, traffickers, corrupt officials. Poaching is fueled by this systemic corruption."
They recall instances where investigations uncovered senior park officials colluding with poaching gangs or where funding meant for protection is siphoned off. Simon accentuates, "We’ve been fighting this for over 50 years, and it’s disheartening that progress is slow because of deep-rooted corruption."