CapeNature is considering a takeover of the Table Mountain National Park.
The move was revealed during the deliberation on the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and CapeNature’s 2021/22 annual reports, when the organization responsible for wilderness areas and public nature reserves in the province, said that they were investigating taking over the national park from SANParks.
Committee chairperson, the DA’s Andricus van der Westhuizen, requested an update on the process of trading National Parks and Provincial Nature Reserves after Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy said last year that she would kick-start the process as a way to streamline the park’s service.
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In response to Van der Westhuizen, CapeNature chief executive Razeena Omar confirmed that there was currently a national working group that was looking into this process.
Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell added that he believed CapeNature would do a better job than the national government in managing safety and conservation in the park, adding that a meeting would be scheduled between himself, Premier Alan Winde, Creecy and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille. The provincial body also said it was ready to indicate which nature reserves it was willing to exchange for Table Mountain and that the trade would add considerable value to the entity’s revenue generation.
According to their annual report, CapeNature netted more than R50.5 million in tourism in the last financial year, a record that surpassed pre-pandemic income performances.
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This was due to outstanding work from the entity in promoting eco-tourism in the province and a robust recovery in visitor numbers according to Omar.
“Table Mountain is probably the biggest ecotourism draw in the province,” Van der Westhuizen said, adding that he would be submitting questions to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning to ascertain further details.
“With the exceptional management displayed by CapeNature, it would only make sense for this park to also be run by this entity.
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