The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has expressed concern about illegal miners who have invaded the province’s largest nature reserve, the Songimvelo Nature Reserve in Tjakastad in the Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality.
The illegal miners broke through the fence that was recently installed by the provincial government after residents in the area raised concerns about wild animals.
Agency CEO Mduduzi Vilakazi explains, “We are very concerned. They are the ones degrading the environmental space at Songimvelo Nature Reserve, degrading the ecological aspect that makes Songimvelo a protected area. But we are also concerned that those same guns may be used to frustrate the local communities through hijackings, heists and other crimes that are taking place around the area.”
Mpumalanga police have confirmed that Songimvelo is one of the areas they are focusing on to curb the illegal mining in the area of Tjakastaad.
Provincial police spokesperson Magonseni Nkosi says they are moving with speed to curb the activities before they escalate further.
“We are quite aware that the situation actually is not Songimvelo which is affected I can say the whole province facing such problems that is why we ended up establishing a team called Operation Vala Umgodi. For the past three months, we managed to register more than 500 case dockets in illegal mining-related issues and we managed to arrest more than 600 suspects, the matter is not only about illegal mining it pertains to the lives of the illegal miners – that’s why we trying to get other stakeholders that can play a crucial role in the fight against illegal mining.”
