Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Dave Bryant MP.
The DA can reveal that in a year, SAN Parks management has only filled five of the vacant 87 ranger posts at Kruger National Park.
This information was revealed in response to a DA Parliamentary question last month following on from an answer received last year. In the previous answer in March 2022 the DA exposed that 87 posts were vacant and that there were no immediate plans to fill them.
The DA has been saying for years that filling these posts will help to contribute significantly towards fighting the rampant poaching of wildlife, in particular our endangered wild rhino.
The rhino population of Kruger National Park continues to plummet as a result of the international criminal syndicates smuggling horns into China. It is now essential that more funding be prioritized towards filling the remaining 82 vacant ranger posts as a matter of urgency, to assist in the ongoing fight against rampant rhino poaching and the associated criminal syndicates.
There can be no excuse for not filling these critical positions. The ANC government cannot continue to leave these positions vacant while South Africa’s remaining wild rhinos are butchered and their body parts shipped off to China. The DA calls on Minister Barbara Creecy to ensure that funding is made available to fill the remaining 82 ranger posts at Kruger National Park.