Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Willie Aucamp has confirmed the establishment of SANParks Kruger Recovery Fund following extensive flood damage in the Kruger National Park KNP.
Delivering an update to media on January 22, Aucamp said the recent floods caused severe damage to infrastructure across the park. SANParks estimates losses running into hundreds of millions of rand. The floods also affected wider parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, resulting in loss of life, homes and critical infrastructure. Government has declared it a national disaster in terms of Section 23 of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.
Despite the damage, Aucamp confirmed no lives were lost in KNP. SANParks highly effective early warning systems and the swift, coordinated response of park management and emergency services enable safe evacuation of all guests and staff.
