Chairperson, Madam Minister, hon guests, good morning. Considering the seriousness of the issue, as mentioned by the hon chairperson, allow me to continue about the rhinos.
On 4 March 2013, Minister Molewa was quoted as saying:
By last week, 102 rhinos had already been killed. On a positive note, 40 arrests have been made. This is but one aspect of the battle against this problem, which the government is tackling on several levels.
On 22 May, this figure had already trebled and escalated to 354. Yes, you did hear me correctly - trebled. Since then, we have reached the 360 mark of rhino killed in our country. Sadly, since yesterday, yet another four rhinos have been killed, one in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve, two at the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, and one near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.
Surely, Madam Minister, this speaks volumes, that we are not winning the war against poaching, and the situation is reaching alarming and critical levels. At this rate, we will be left with no rhino at all. The onslaught by heavily armed rhino poachers is relentless, and this month alone the mutilations, killings and disfigurement of these defenceless animals has reached 100. This can only be described as a tragedy. We are not winning the war.
In spite of increasing the number of rangers, police and soldiers to patrol the Kruger National Park borderline, which is the hardest hit, our rhinos continue to die. As has now been proven, the removal of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park fencing was definitely not a wise decision, and the Minister must very seriously reconsider the reinstallation of these fences. Do we know, or do we have track of, what happened to the 450 rhinos that went through the border after the removal of the fencing, never to be seen again? Last Friday night, section ranger Andrew Desmet was shot and wounded in the stomach north of Letaba in the Kruger National Park during a firefight with rhino poachers. Andrew is the first victim since 2008 to be shot in the Kruger National Park. He underwent surgery at the Medi-Clinic in Nelspruit and his condition was reported as stable. We wish Andrew a speedy recovery. Let us look at some comparisons.
Between 2000 and 2007 rhino were poached at a rate of 12 per year. Since 2007, the figure has escalated to 83 in 2008, 122 in 2009, 333 in 2010, 448 in 2011, and 668 in 2012. Of these, 425 occurred in the Kruger National Park. This is a more than 5 000% increase in the number of rhinos killed between 2007 and 2012. With a street value of $65 000 per kilogram, rhino horn is, indeed, more precious than gold.
South Africa is home to 85% of the world's rhino population, and if the killings continue, we can expect some 900 rhinos to be killed by the end of the year, with the Kruger National Park bearing the brunt of the escalation in poaching. However, other provinces are not spared, either. On Tuesday, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife announced a weekend massacre of seven white rhino and one black rhino at iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site near St Lucia. Additional carcasses were also discovered in Vryheid, bringing the KwaZulu-Natal figure to 12 in the last 20 days. Further incidents have also been reported in the North West and Mpumalanga.
A total of 267 persons were arrested in 2012 for incidents of rhino poaching, of which 73 occurred in the Kruger National Park. This year, 78 arrests have been made. Unfortunately, the cases may take up to two years before finalisation and conviction, and we have recently seen the rearrest of a previous offender who was out on bail, which does not help the cause.
We welcome, finally, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam, and we hope that this memorandum will bring law enforcement from both countries together in bringing down the boom in rhino poaching and the illegal trade in horn. Further memorandums of understanding with Thailand, China and Kenya, as well as the bilaterals with Zimbabwe and Mozambique, are of the utmost importance. A special bilateral agreement with Mozambique has to be very stringent, considering that more than 80% of the poachers apprehended are from Mozambique.
We want an assurance from the Minister that the stockpiles are accounted for and in safe locations, so that they are not accessed and stolen by poachers and traders.
Rhino poaching should be declared a national disaster by the President, and funding should be accessible in order to manage the crisis. We therefore welcome the additional funding of R75 million over the medium term in the 2013 budget to combat rhino poaching in the SA National Parks, SANParks. This, however, does not cover private parks and reserves.
It is unfortunately not only the rhinos that are under threat. Elephants are being targeted as well. Last week, a mature female elephant was poached in Tembe Elephant Park in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, and the guns used were AK-47s. If we do not nip this in the bud, we will have a similar situation on our hands with the elephants.
Additional funding to the SA National Biodiversity Institute of R150 million over the medium term is welcomed so that the institute will be able to deliver on its mandate and to improve and maintain critical infrastructure under its control, such as the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden Education Centre. South African biodiversity is endowed with huge wealth in species: 5,8%, representing 300 of the global total of mammals; 8% representing more than 800, of bird species recorded; 4,6%, representing 288, of reptiles; and 5,5% of the world's known insects. In conjunction with the provincial departments, all these species have to be managed and protected. The vision of the National Development Plan, the NDP, is to embrace a transition to an environmentally sustainable economy. The R800 million boost for the Green Fund that the Treasury recently announced will create a further 63 000 jobs in this coming financial year, over and above the 27 000 new job opportunities that have already been created, of which 10 400 are full-time.
Greening the Future is an initiative that must draw on international best practice in its design, maximise the use of available initiatives, ignite local action and reward everyone for better environmental performance. The programme should become one of the cornerstones of the integrated development plans, the IDPs, at municipalities, especially in the development and planning departments.
Under its curatorship, SANparks has 558 000 hectares of land, with 22 national parks under its management, of which only five make a profit. With the change in funding from day-to-day operational funding into once-off project-based grant funding, the project has to be self-sustaining in terms of operational costs, long-term maintenance and upgrading. Let us hope that this will not increase entry costs to these parks, thereby pricing themselves out of the market.
Madam Minister, oversight over the implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy is of the utmost importance. The disposal of hazardous waste is still a major problem throughout the country. Hazardous materials still have to be transported around the country to accredited sites, thereby endangering people en route. The licensing and issuing of permits to waste disposal sites is not progressing fast enough and should be fast- tracked, together with the development of policies, processes and systems. Government can learn of its role in current and future waste management from the Western Cape, which, through the Green Economy Strategy Framework, aims to minimise waste in all forms, and to help biodiversity and ecosystems through better planned and located settlements.
The Auditor-General's report is cause for concern, with its findings in the latest audit report stating that consultants were appointed where permanent capacity should have been created. Thank you, Chair. [Time expired.] [Applause.]