Kruger Recovery Fund caps SANParks’ impeccable disaster response

The Democratic Alliance welcomes the establishment of the Kruger Recovery Fund by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and South African National Parks (SANParks) to support the urgent rebuilding and restoration of critical infrastructure at Kruger National Park following the unprecedented flooding earlier this month.

We commend Minister Willie Aucamp for demonstrating decisive and proactive leadership in addressing the crisis, and SANParks management for their swift implementation of crisis response protocols that ensured the safety of staff, visitors, and wildlife throughout the flood event.

Not one injury or death has been reported within the park, a remarkable outcome for such a large scale and remote operation.

The devastation caused by heavy rainfall, including significant damage to bridges, roads, staff villages, tourism facilities, and electrical and water systems, threatens the economic viability and long-term sustainability of South Africa's premier national park and the tourism economy that it underpins.

The scale of the destruction, not officially tallied but likely running into hundreds of millions of rand, underscores the importance of rapid, transparent, and well-coordinated recovery efforts.

Under the DA's governance philosophy, disaster response and recovery funding must be managed with the highest standards of accountability and transparency. We support the design of the Kruger Recovery Fund's governance structure which includes independent audit oversight as an essential safeguard to attract national and international donor confidence and to ensure funds are used exclusively for resilience-enhancing reconstruction and community support programmes.

The DA further urges all public and private partners to verify that contributions are directed only through the authorised SANParks Kruger Recovery Fund and the SANParks Honorary Rangers' campaign, in order to mitigate the risk of fraudulent or misdirected fundraising schemes.

South Africa has endured multiple public and natural disasters in recent years, from the Covid-19 pandemic to devastating floods in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and elsewhere, yet too often, recovery and relief funding has been mismanaged, delayed, or squandered under the previous ANC administrations.

The DA's commitment to competent, accountable governance means that when disaster strikes, funds are deployed swiftly, strategically, and with full oversight, to maximise impact and minimise corruption.

Our approach ensures that every rand spent yields the best outcome for affected communities and ecosystems.

The Kruger Recovery Fund offers an important opportunity not only to restore one of the country's greatest natural assets, but also to demonstrate what effective, accountable leadership can achieve.

We encourage members of the public and civil society to support Minister Aucamp and assist in restoring South Africa's premier natural asset.