2017-w919 - 18 April 2017

Semakaleng Patricia Kopane to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Whether there is any position of (a) chief executive officer, (b) chief financial officer and/or (c) chief operating officer that is currently vacant in each entity reporting to her; if so, (i) how long has each specified position been vacant and (ii) what is the reason for each vacancy; 2) have the vacancies been advertised; if so, (a) were interviews done and (b) on what date will the vacancies be filled; 3) (a) what is the total number of persons who are currently employed in the specified positions in an acting capacity, (b) for what period has each person been acting in each position and (c) has any of the specified persons applied for the positions?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 18 Apr 2017

1. South Africa National Parks (SANparks)

1.

(a) No

(b) Yes

(c) No

(i) CFO vacant since 1 April 2017

(ii) Resignation

2) Yes

a) No

b) No specific date as the post just been vacated, however, once the advertisement has been closed , short-listing and interviews will follow immediately.

3)

a) One

b) As at 1st April 2017.

c) No

2. South ...

More »

2017-w744 - 10 April 2017

Thomas Zwelakhe Hadebe to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

With reference to a press release by the SA National Parks in 2010 (details furnished) and her press release on 27 February 2017 (details furnished), how does she explain the loss of at least 2 377 white rhinos from the Kruger National Park since 1 January 2010?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

The honorable member is aware that numerous interventions have been implemented since 2008/9 by government and other stakeholders to address the scourge of poaching and illegal trade in rhino horn. The poaching (illegal killing) remains a priority crime and the integrated strategic management approach approved by Cabinet in 2014 and implemented by the relevant government departments, is resulting in the reduction of losses experienced ...

More »

2017-w740 - 10 April 2017

Johanna Steenkamp to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Why was no Committee of Inquiry established to investigate the feasibility of a domestic trade in rhino horns, as was the case of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate the feasibility of the country tabling a proposal for an international trade in rhino horn?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

There was no need to establish a Committee of Inquiry to investigate the feasibility of a domestic trade in rhino horns, because the Department commissioned a feasibility study in 2011 to determine the viability of legalising the trade in rhino horn within South Africa, as agreed at the Rhino Summit, hosted in October 2010, by the then Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. The ...

More »

2017-w741 - 10 April 2017

Johanna Steenkamp to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(a) Why does her department’s consultative Wildlife Forum exclude key stakeholders in the wildlife conservation and protection sector, (b) has she found that the exclusion of other interested and affected wildlife stakeholders is constitutional and (c) what plans does she have to ensure that all stakeholders are included in the forum?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

(a) The department’s consultative Wildllife Forum does not exclude key stakeholders in the wildlife conservation and protection sector nor are we aware of any such exclusion. The Wildllife Forum was established in 2008 based on the following understanding:

  • That there are national issues pertaining to wildllife management that need to be addressed by the Minister on a continous basis;
  • the establishment of an operational ...
More »

2017-w746 - 10 April 2017

Ross Kriel Purdon to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Whether she will initiate any changes in the policies and regulations of her department to include the welfare of animals, given the recent Constitutional Court judgment (details furnished)?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

I have proposed the inclusion of a provision in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA) relating to the well-being of faunal biological resources. This provision will facilitate the development of regulations that will address the well-being of a wild animal in respect of which a restricted activity (such as keeping, breeding, conveying, and so on) is carried out. This proposed provision has been ...

More »

2017-w753 - 10 April 2017

Brandon Rodney Topham to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

How many rhino horns were removed from carcasses of rhinos which were victims of drought or other natural causes of death in the Kruger National Park in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

(a) In 2015, 181 horns were removed from carcasses of rhinos which were victims of drought or other natural causes.

(b) In 2016, 205 horns were removed from carcasses of rhinos which were victims of drought or other natural causes.

It should be noted that not all rhino horns from carcasses of rhinos which died of natural causes are recovered because horns are in ...

More »

2017-w745 - 10 April 2017

Ross Kriel Purdon to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

What is the total number of rhinos in the Kruger National Park that (a) died from drought conditions in 2016, (b) were killed illegally through poaching, (c) were translocated and to where and (d) were sold?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

(a) A total of 190 rhinos died from natural causes during 2016. This natural mortality includes deaths due to the drought and increased fighting amongst rhino males as a result of drought.

(b) A total of 662 rhinos were illegally killed in the Kruger National Park during 2016.

(c) Eleven rhinos were translocated internally in the Kruger National Park for security reasons in 2016. ...

More »

2017-w749 - 10 April 2017

Sarel Jacobus Francois Marais to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

With reference to her statement that 107 community projects are in the process of development as part of the Biodiversity Economy Strategy and that wildlife will be donated to these communities, (a) what are the names of these communities, (b) what is the location of each of the specified communities and (c) what is the total number of animals, by species, that have been donated to date?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

a). The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has supported more than 107, community projects. This number includes projects falling under different windows implemented under the Expanded Public Works Programme and are at different stages of implementation. Some are towards completion while others are at planning and or execution.The projects supported fall under various themes namely: Biodiversity Economy (Wildlife and Bioprospecting Economies), People and Parks, ...

More »

2017-w751 - 10 April 2017

Pieter Van Dalen to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

(1)When will the centralised national electronic permitting system of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which her Department has said that they have been working on for almost 20 years, be implemented; and (2) will the implementation of the system enable the public to (a) be informed about the regulations that affect them, (b) access notices of receipt of application, (c) view the proposed rules and notices of availability of documents, such as permit applications which are published to provide the public an opportunity to comment; and (d) access the final version of regulations once public comments have been considered; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 10 Apr 2017

(1) The Department will pilot the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora permit system in the 2017/18 financial year, and the final national implementation of the system will depend on the adjustments to be made based on the pilot phase.

(2) (a) The permit system is based on the requirements in the regulations. These regulations that affect the ...

More »

2017-w743 - 06 April 2017

Thomas Zwelakhe Hadebe to ask the Minister of Environmental Affairs

Whether the South African National Parks (SANParks) is considering to take full control of the provincial reserves which share unfenced boundaries with the Kruger National Park (KNP), including Letaba Ranch Game Reserve, Manyeleti Nature Reserve and Makuya Nature Reserve; if not, (a) has SANParks found the specified reserves to be managed effectively and (b) will she provide Mr T Z Hadebe with copies of the annual management reports of the reserves?

Reply from the Minister of Environmental Affairs on 6 Apr 2017

As part of Government’s sustainable development agenda, the Department of Environmental Affairs is facilitating a programme of expansion and management effectiveness of the protected areas estate. This programme focuses on inter alia, consolidating conservation priority areas, looking at economies of scale, and minimising duplication and overlaps in conservation management. The National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act makes provision for SANParks to manage all existing ...

More »
Previous Page 19 of 50 Next