2005/2006 - SANParks

2005South African National ParksCHAIRPERSON’S REPORTI present this year’s annual report with a mixture of joy and sadness.December 2005 marked the offi cial end of term for the previous Board.However, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Mr Marthinusvan Schalkwyk, extended the term for a further three months. Theircontributions will be sorely missed. With the new National EnvironmentManagement Act (NEMA): Protected Areas Act number 57 of 2003, asamended, the 18 member Board has been reduced to a minimum of 9and a maximum of 12 members.The outgoing Board has provided the leadership for a substantiallyimproved governance framework for SANParks. Under their stewardship,we have seen a record of three unqualifi ed audit reports. This could onlybe achieved because of the high level of professionalism and diligenceby the Executive Management and the staff at South African NationalParks (SANParks). I continue to believe that this team of hard workersshould serve as a benchmark for public service. We as the Board saycongratulations and thank you to the Chief Executive for his leadershipof this great public asset.The South African government and the people of South Africa continueto show their trust and belief in SANParks as the custodian of choicefor protected areas. This was further confi rmed when a new nationalpark was added under the management of SANParks. The CamdebooNational Park, near Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, was offi ciallyproclaimed in October 2005. This piece of land, spanning over14 500ha, was donated by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) South Africaand forms a nucleus for a further expansion that will link up with alreadyexisting Mountain Zebra National Park. This will give us an opportunity tocreate a unique African Karoo wildlife experience, linking up the towns ofGraaf-Reinet and Cradock. The mega-conservation area will span over120km in length, comprising of over 520 000ha of conserved land.4