2005/2006 - SANParks

2006South African National ParksAs an organisation that strives to be the ‘employer of choice’, SANParksestablished an important business unit, the Employee AssistanceProgramme (EAP). This is considered in line with the organisation’sobligation to its staff and a way to display commitment to their total wellbeing. With world industries and social norms currently under the threatof HIV & AIDS, SANParks is putting in place innovative measures aimedat alleviating the situation through the establishment of the EAP whichis a proven strategy for assisting ‘troubled employees’, and addressingand managing the effects of HIV & AIDS is core to the unit’s operation.Of particular note was the launch of the ‘Know Your Status Campaign’on World Aids Day which aimed to factually ascertain the impact of HIV& AIDS as exerted upon SANParks as an organisation.Further to this, SANParks, an organisation that has been in existencefor 80 years and manages both biodiversity and eco-tourism, seesthe importance of establishing a high legal competence within theorganisation to deal with its wide range of mandates. The organisationhas over the years managed to successfully infuse cutting-edge, goodcorporate governance in pursuance of its mandate as a public entityand, this has been further cemented by the establishment of the Legaldivision, which as at the end of the fi nansial year was handling over400 matters, and has developed proper understanding of the overalllegal requirement of SANParks, built a higher level of experience andexpertise within and, established credibility and profi le throughoutSANParks and its external stakeholders.In September 1998, DEAT articulated the need for SANParks to preparefor a lesser dependence on state funding, which would increasinglybe aimed at funding the essential conservation requirements. Thisformed the basis of the Commercialisation Strategy as adopted bySANParks in 2000. SANParks’ irreproachable ability to manage thearduous post-award phase of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) hasfurther confi rmed its leadership in conservation, a point that is not onlyacknowledged by both public and private conservation bodies in thecountry but by international bodies as well. As a result, SANParks isdeveloping a Strategic Plan for Commercialisation for the period 2006to 2011 in line with National Treasury requirements. The focus will beon a more responsible approach to tourism and commercialisationwhere the strategy will be used to enhance rather than replace statefunding for conservation.Effective management of such contracts have proven that SANParkshas the ability to provide solutions for challenges faced by the privatesector and to make necessary interventions, in the event of privateparties failing to meet contractual requirements. A key intervention wasthe successful removal of the restaurant operator at the Kruger NationalPark in order to improve service levels. The removal and appointmentof an alternative service provider was seamless, and resulted in nojob losses or disruption to customer service. The lodge concession’soccupancy rates have increased by approximately 9%, having improvedfrom an average 34% in March 2005 to 43% in March 2006.Over and above the diligent execution of our mandate and the harnessingof our key business pillars (Conservation, People-Centred Conservationand Eco-Tourism), SANParks has, during the period under review,poised itself as more than just an authority within conservation circlesbut also as one of the country’s leading brands.Once again Mapungubwe National Park continued to make us proud,with increased occupation levels, far beyond what would be expectedof a new product. But the most notable success of this beautiful parkis the whopping 60.5% average black visitor component, the highestin the country, of all national parks. Tsitsikamma, Augrabies and KrugerNational Park also displayed signifi cant increases in black visitor numbersand this speaks to our corporate strategy of transforming the domesticguest profi le, through growth, to be representative of South Africansociety. We believe that the growth in Mapungubwe, specifi cally, canprobably be mostly attributed to the running media campaign with theIsidingo soap opera of SABC 3, which featured the park, exposing itsmost exciting attributes, along with the rising iconic cultural status thatthis park is enjoying. The demographic research will in the future focuson more than the number of black people coming to the parks, but willprobe the reasons behind these visits.As reported in last year’s annual report SANParks continues to workwith relevant stakeholders for the settlement of legitimate land claimsin our national parks. We remain committed to supporting the nationalprocess to ensure that justice prevails in this regard. We work closelywith the Land Claims Commission, the Department of Land Affairsand DEAT in developing a template for speedily resolving land claimsin national protected areas. It is hoped that this will be signed by therespective Ministers in the new fi nancial year.With a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SmallEnterprise Development Agency (SEDA) of the Department of Tradeand Industry which is aimed at building capacity in SMME’s workingwith SANParks, we continue to move closer to our ideals as held by thePeople and Conservation divisional goals. This initiative will ensure thatwe continue to build support and economic growth in our neighbouringcommunities. We are really proud of the work done by our People andConservation unit which is aimed at introducing communities to ourparks and making the parks an integral part of their livelihoods. Some ofthe initiatives of the unit include Kids in Parks, Junior Honorary Rangersand ‘Take Kruger to Kasie’, to mention but a few.In general, the 2005/2006 Financial Year was another feather to SANParks’cap and, I not only thank the SANParks family for making it possiblebut as well, I look forward to yet another ‘WILD’ year ahead.Dr. David MabundaChief Executive7