Durban - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela has inspected the fencing at the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal following complaints of attacks by wild animals, her office said on Friday.
“On Thursday, the Public Protector, who was accompanied by a team of investigators from her office, inspected the quality of the fencing around the 960km2 park, to ascertain if indeed it left local communities and their livestock vulnerable to wildlife attacks,” her spokesman Oupa Segalwe said.
Madonsela met a group of residents and headmen from the area.
Residents alleged they were forcibly removed from the land without compensation.
“Community members complained that their rights to the land had been trampled upon,” Segalwe said, adding that residents claimed locals were not benefiting from the park.
They also alleged that, because of a 1950 policy, they were compensated only for attacks by animals that were not indigenous to the area.
“They called for the review of the policy and increased efforts to stop dangerous animals from escaping,” he said.
Madonsela also met officials from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, a state institution that manages the park.
Sapa