TALKING POINT

IUCN funding

Reynold “Rey” Thakhuli General Manager: Media, Events and Stakeholder Relations

Colleagues, we have reached the end of the 2021/2022 financial year and it’s truly exciting to see how far we have come as an organisation, and how we survived the turbulent times up until the declaration of the end of the national state of disaster. We have come a long way. The year turned out much differently than anyone could have imagined. While it was certainly challenging in many ways, it also showed how strong we are as an organisation, even in the toughest times.

We can take pride in the fact that when the pandemic brought the world to a halt and forced us to keep our distance from family, friends, colleagues, the work we do and places we managed, our national parks somehow helped people to have well-balanced lives when restrictions were eased and travelling was allowed. Hopefully this made the difficult times a little easier as you, our staff, welcomed visitors back into our parks.

The great service we provide to our customers defines us and we rose to the challenge. Your smiles, willingness and professionalism in the execution of your duties passed the test, and as an organisation we proved to be both robust and extremely flexible in the face of change. We need to recognise that we wouldn’t be where we are without the contributions made by each and every one of you, so please accept a big thank you from the organisation. Enkosi, Siyabonga! Re ya leboha! Baie dankie! Ndo livhuwa! Ndza khensa! Re ya leboga!

Chief Audit Executive, Mr Lutendo Makhadi is on the Green Couch in this issue, shedding some light on the internal audit function and what it purposes to achieve on page 4.

Also in this issue, read more about the status and important benefits of the Electronic Documents and Records Management System (EDRMS) project on page 9.

World Wildlife Day was celebrated on 3 March where a special focus is placed on species under threat of becoming endangered or extinct. Worldwide, it is estimated that approximately 1 million species have become extinct. In South Africa there has been a decline in species and ecosystems, with 12% of South Africa’s species categorised as endangered. Conserving our species for future generations remains a top priority for SANParks. Read more on how Augrabies Falls National Park commemorated the day on page 12.

As part of the national cheetah meta-population project co-ordinated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, a cheetah was released at Mountain Zebra National Park. Read more on how the cheetah is thriving on page 18.

As we’ve recently commemorated Human Rights Month in March and Freedom Month in April, I am reminded by Tata Nelson Mandela’s words which I would like to bring to each of our memory: “Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Let freedom reign! The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement! God bless Africa!”