The killing of three runaway elephants has reignited concern about the continued multimillion-rand delay in securing the boundary fence of one of Africa’s oldest Big Five game reserves.
For several years, conservation staff at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi have been warning about the risks of breakouts by lions, elephants and other dangerous animals after a series of controversies and legal disputes over the repair or refurbishment of boundary fences securing the 96,000-hectare reserve in KZN.
The park, proclaimed as a wilderness sanctuary in 1895, is also one of the most densely populated rhino reserves in the world and has been heavily hit by horn poaching syndicates over the last decade.
The park has a population of more than 900 elephants, and a contraception project began in 2014 to control the burgeoning numbers.
At least R43m has been spent to fix the fence over recent years, but now it has emerged that the problems have not been resolved and that further millions will be needed to secure Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and 12 other Ezemvelo parks and nature reserves.
On January 31, five elephants broke out from the western boundary. Staff managed to shepherd two of them back into the park using a helicopter, but the other three elephants walked about 7km from the boundary and were later shot dead by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife staff.
According to Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo, rangers were worried the animals were close to a nearby village and that further attempts to chase them home could make them scatter and endanger the lives of residents.
Mntambo also suggested if the animals were immobilised with tranquilisers, the organisation did not have a suitable helicopter to airlift them, while poor roads would have hampered attempts to move them with heavy trucks.
Ezemvelo has not disclosed exactly how the animals broke out close to the Okukho area, but there were indications they escaped somewhere near the Nhlungwane River.
Mntambo said a separate group of six elephants had escaped about a week earlier. These animals had also been chased back by helicopter and apparently damaged the fence on their way back in. The park has a population of more than 900 elephants, and a contraception project began in 2014 to control the burgeoning numbers.
However, Mntambo has confirmed sections of fencing in the vicinity of the most recent elephant breakouts were “old” and in need of repair.
“The material has been supplied, but the fence has not been erected,” he said, suggesting these delays were due to difficulties in recruiting workers due to Covid-19.
At a provincial portfolio committee last week, Ezemvelo revealed it was looking for another R99m to repair fencing at 13 reserves around the province.
There have been numerous dangerous animal escapes due to fence weaknesses at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, including a breakout by 13 lions in August 2019.
In March 2020, another runaway lion was shot in the Melmoth area.
Three years ago, the auditor-general reported there had been allegations of “mismanagement” of fencing projects at the reserve since at least October 2015, which subsequently led to disciplinary and criminal action against implicated individuals.
A second controversy emerged in November 2019 when Sunday Times Daily reported a legal dispute between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and a local construction company relating to a R35m fencing contract for a 145km section of the reserve. It is understood this dispute remains unresolved following a series of claims and counterclaims in the Pietermaritzburg high court.
More recently, Ezemvelo has reported that another R8.2m was allocated for the 2019/20 financial year to secure the fence.
However, new “challenges have been experienced” with the boundary fence refurbishment project.
“First, materials have taken more than 18 months to be delivered. Incorrect specification on materials delivered and community issues all contributed to severe delays with the programme,” Ezemvelo said in its latest annual report.
In its previous annual report for 2019/20, Ezemvelo stated the boundary fence was “possibly the biggest challenge facing the park”.
“In certain areas on the eastern boundary there is no fence, posing a massive risk for several reasons. Animal disease and wildlife security are the most prominent risks and are currently being addressed by park management.”
Ezemvelo has also been plagued by a series of management and financial crises for nearly a decade and is under administration, with an acting chief executive. The management board was suspended last year by former provincial environment MEC Nomusa Ncube-Dube “as a result of prima facie allegations against the board as a collective”.
In response to further questions Ezemvelo said it hoped to complete a 160km fencing repair project at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi during the current financial year. Apart from fencing materials, costs also included construction and clearing of trees and other vegetation. To save costs, Ezemvelo would manage the project internally and hire labour from local communities.
“We are currently finalising the recruitment process of workers. We need to hire 180 people from the community. The Covid disruptions did not end with the suspension of the hard lockdown. Remember that there were also travelling restrictions that remained, as well as limits in number of people that may attend a single event. So the Covid pandemic has affected the process badly.”
