Thank you very much, hon Minister. I am now in a difficulty I have a note for me that says the next speaker is supposed to be hon Mthethwa and Mthethwa is not in the House. So now, I must look for his look alike. Hon Mfayela is it you? Do you want to speak? Mthethwa is not in the House.
Question 142:
The MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Thank you very
much, hon member. Yes, the department has plans to combat abalone poaching. These interventions are planned and implemented as part of the enhanced co- ordinated compliance and enforcement programme of initiative 5 of Operation Phakisa.
Integrated teams at national and provincial levels, as well as local law enforcement, are deployed under the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, Natjoints, to combat abalone poaching which is a threat in a number of coastal regions, particularly in the Western Cape.
During Phakisa initiative 5 operations in 2018-19, confiscations were made of abalone worth R21,3 million, as well as equipment worth more than five million used in illegal activities. In the fist six months of the current financial year, confiscations of abalone and equipment associated with poaching and trafficking were made to the value of R3,6 million.
The most recent deployment of the integrated Phakisa teams is to the Overberg region which began towards the end of September. As a result of these interventions, there has been a noticeable reduction in illegal harvesting activities. A number of arrests have been made, as well as confiscations of vehicles, equipment, vessels and abalone. Deployment in this area will continue in line with the proactive and reactive strategies set out in the operational plan.
With regard to Question 2, the implementation of plans aimed at combating poaching remain structured under the enhanced and co-
ordinated compliance and enforcement programme, as I explained earlier, which is an initiative of Operation Phakisa under the Natjoints.
As initiative 5 focuses on joint operations in the maritime environment with multiple role-players with different jurisdictions, the Natjoints is used to execute proactive and reactive operations, thereby acting as a force multiplier for the department's own resources. [Applause.]