Heinz de Boer, MPL, DA KZN spokesman on Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs writes:
The war for natural resources and the apparent complete lack of enforcement in protecting sea life is an issue that will see our coast being decimated.
Boardroom decisions at a national level that have taken enforcement responsibilities away from KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife (EKZNW) and handed them over to the DAFF have led to an exponential increase in poaching. Given the already extensive coastline, even EKZNW historically had a hard time trying to protect fish and crustacean stock.
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Discussions by the Democratic Alliance with senior Ezemvelo staff on this show that they have essentially recognised the crisis but again lay the blame on national government and politicians – saying the coastal enforcement should never have been removed from them. That said, EKZNW has a pretty terrible track record in securing its own park animals. Their enforcement capabilities are also severely constrained.
The protection of our coast and resources is something the DA will be discussing more robustly with our national counterparts. Ultimately though, we may have to explore specialist enforcement and prosecution teams, coupled with specialised prosecutors and courts to stem the destruction of our coast.
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