Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

4-minute read
05 March 2023 | 15:03 CAT

The Kruger National Park is one of the country’s top tourist destinations. But it is facing a slew of challenges. The national park’s most pressing challenge is eradicating internal corruption and not preventing rhino poaching. Kruger National Park has faced a relentless onslaught of rhino poaching for over a decade. But today, its most significant threat is internal corruption, a symptom of a breakdown in trust, staff cohesion and professionalism within the park.

Recent staff arrests following lengthy financial investigations and a renewed commitment to combating corruption bear fruit but will require political support, clear law enforcement strategies to address organized crime around the park and a long-term investment. The park is severely affected by corrosive corruption and violent organized crime, particularly in Mpumalanga, where staff living in surrounding communities are vulnerable to deeply entrenched criminal syndicates.

In conversation with Radio Islam International, Director of East and Southern Africa: Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime, Julian Rademeyer, said the internal corruption varies widely from fuel theft (mass amounts of diesel stolen from the park), providing information to poaching gangs to the more complex cases of weapons smuggled into the park and concealed by park staff.

Rademeyer said a laundry lady had smuggled weapons in from the laundry scheduled for cleaning that day, and a rifle was found.

There is a range of courses for corruption. According to Rademeyer, there is deep unhappiness within the park seeing vast spending in the past decade focused on the war on poaching. However, the condition in which Rangers live in the park and salaries have remained the same.

Meanwhile, it is going to be an enormous challenge to overcome. Rademeyer said there are moves at foot, the sands park, the auditing firm KPMG and the hawks in the province have been conducting financial investigations into some of the park’s staff.

Around 50 suspects have been identified who have directly been implicated in receiving payments from criminal networks, and there have been 15 arrests thus far.

“There is a critical element that also needs to be addressed, the morale within the park, the professionalism and efforts being laid by management. Investigations and integrity testing should be conducted amongst others,” he says.

Listen to the interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.