The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Willie Aucamp, has provided an update on the current developments at Kruger National Park following the floods that have caused extensive damage to the infrastructure.
Last week’s persistent heavy rainfall across Limpopo and Mpumalanga caused river levels to rise significantly, with overflows reported in the Crocodile, Sabie, Letaba, Sand, Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers.
“In the Kruger National Park alone, the damage to critical infrastructure is so widespread that SANParks is estimating that the damage possibly runs into hundreds of millions. Despite this devastation to infrastructure and operations, the most important highlight is that no lives were lost,” the Minister said on Thursday.
He was addressing a media briefing in Cape Town on the latest developments following the flooding at the park, as well as on the recently established Kruger Recovery Fund by SANParks.
The Minister indicated that substantial financing is required to rebuild the damaged infrastructure that includes tourism facilities, bridges, roads as well as water and electrical systems and services.
“In the northern part (Nxanatseni Region) of the Kruger National Park, various roads are currently not accessible due to damage from flooding, including S57 Shisha low-level bridge, providing access to Sirheni Bush Camp; H14 Phalaborwa to Mopani, and the Tsendzeleka low-level bridge approach.
“The H1-4 Letaba to Mopani approach at the high-level bridge has also been washed away, which means Tshokwane Picnic Site, Satara Rest Camp and the Northern Regions of the Park are not accessible at this stage,” he said.
In the southern part (Marula Region), the road closures are at the H4-1 Skukuza to Lower Sabie, as the three temporary bypasses have been washed away.
S1 Skukuza to Phabeni is not accessible, as the L5 drainage structure has been washed away.
“The H2-2 Pretoriuskop to Afsaal (gravel road) is also not accessible due to drift structures being washed away. A final assessment of all the gravel roads will be done only once the roads become accessible to determine their condition.
“All tourism camps and related facilities in the northern part (Nxanatseni Region) have been closed -- namely Pafuri Border Camp, Punda Maria Rest Camp, Sirheni Bush Camp, Shingwedzi Rest Camp, Bateleur Bush Camp, Mopani Rest Camp, Tsendzeleka Rustic Camp, Shimuwini Bush Camp, Letaba and Olifants Rest Camps, and Balule Satellite Camp -- for all operations due to the flood damages,” the Minister said.
The following tourism camps and related facilities in the Southern part (Marula Region) have been closed: Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp and Gate, Lower Sabie, Mbiyamiti, Satara Rest Camp, and Talamati Bush Camp.
The southern and northern areas of the park remain cut off from each other.
Malelane Gate, Numbi Gate and Paul Kruger Gate remain open with an entry quota system still in place. -SAnews.gov.za
