Kruger Park gate may soon be true

According to the head for Local Economic Development (LED) in the Greater Giyani Municipality (GGM), Clr Cedrick Baloyi, during the last meeting between stakeholders at the Collins Chabane Municipality, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, mandated Hosi Matshila, to facilitate a process with traditional leaders who want it in their area of jurisdiction. “The final recommendation confirmed by the deputy minister is that the gate should be located in Muyexe village in the GGM.”

“We are, therefore, expecting it to happen before the end of this financial year if it goes according to plan,” explained Baloyi. He said infrastructure inside the KNP has already been built to cater for the opening of the gate. “There is road construction and other infrastructure development underway to support the opening of this gate within the park. This gives us confidence that the gate will be built in our municipality at Muyexe village,” he stated.

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Initially, some traditional leaders in Collins Chabane Municipality expressed their desire for the gate to be located in Mtititi village against the wish of the GGM, which wanted it to be in Muyexe village. After several debates between stakeholders, it was agreed that the gate should be in Muyexe village. “Since the villages are adjacent to one another, we argued that the gate would benefit both municipalities if it was constructed at Muyexe,” explained Baloyi.

He said a feasibility study recommended Muyexe as the best place to locate the gate. Despite this, certain traditional leaders from Collins Chabane Municipality were not pleased. “As a result, the deputy minister ordered Hosi Matshila to arrange talks with the traditional leaders to get them on board.”