Despite claiming that it had no mandate to manage chacma baboons on the Cape Peninsula, the City of Cape Town plans to extend its current baboon management plan by 18 months for R20 million.
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Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews says the extension is to ‘allow for a transition period and the implementation of the baboon strategic management plan. Given the imminent termination date for the current tender, on 30 June 2023, it would benefit the impacted communities if the programme and the assistance from rangers employed under the programme are extended.’
He adds that a transition period will allow affected communities to work with the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team (CPBMJTT) to find solutions.
Cape Nature, the City and SANParks formed the CPBMJTT after the metro confirmed the programme’s termination last year, News24 reports. This is when Andrews claimed that the City had no mandate to protect private properties on the edge of Table Mountain National Park, adding that the City’s programme was ‘intended to keep baboons within their natural habitat and out of urban areas’.
Although the extension has been welcomed by several stakeholders, others have expressed concern. Sheila Camerer, the chair of the Constantia Residents and Ratepayers Association, says the City withdrew rangers from Constantia in April last year. ‘We welcome any extension, but what concerns us is that Constantia was removed from the programme due to a lack of funding, and it’s not clear to us whether Constantia is to be included in this extension. It should be because we have a big baboon problem. Two baboons have been shot and killed – suspected by residents – in the Constantia area in recent months.’
The Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation (CPCC), Baboons of the South, and Baboon Management Western Cape have also raised concerns about the need for additional contingency funding. According to News24, Baboon Management Western Cape is not certain that R20.15 million is enough or that it includes funding for managing the Constantia 2 troop.
The City’s council, SANParks and Cape Nature approved a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in April ‘to pave the way for the sustainable management of the chacma baboon population of the Cape Peninsula.’ Comments for this MOA closed on 18 May.
According to Andrews, the expected commencement date of the management plan is 31 December 2024.
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