Tug-of-war over compensation of losses

A body representing communities adjacent to the Kruger National Park (KNP) is accusing the park of giving it a raw deal.

This has resulted in a war of words between the KNP and a task team, the body formed by the community members to fight for compensation for losses attributed to damage caused by animals.

Recently, the park paid compensation to farmers in Mpumalanga and will soon start making payments to those in Limpopo, although the task team says the amounts paid are less than the ones agreed on.

At least 60 farmers in Mpumalanga have already been paid, and it is envisaged that some of the farmers in Limpopo will receive payment very soon. A spokesperson for the KNP says that they have done much to satisfy those who lost their livestock, but the leader of the task team, Mr Thomas Shibambu, disagrees.

"They are paying for the losses dating back to 2008, but we demand payment for losses dating back to 1993. This is contrary to our discussions with them,” says Shibambu. He says his organisation will be taking the matter to the Public Protector.

Shibambu says his organisation represents communities in 22 villages adjacent to the park, and it has proposed the following compensation rates: R8 000 for a cow, goat (R200), donkey (R1 300), pig (R1 600) sheep (R600), mule (R600) and horse (R10 000). It is said that the KNP has allegedly made an announcement about the rates it will pay. “We objected, but they are going ahead to make payments without even consulting us," says Shibambu.

The spokesperson of the park, Mr William Mabasa, said the park was going ahead to pay compensation. “Only one person in the name of Shibambu is refusing to accept what we can offer,” said Mabasa. He added that the park was not legally bound to pay compensation, "but is doing it as a way of showing humanity and this should be appreciated by community structures."

He said they would not be able to pay for losses incurred earlier than 2008 because the park could not afford to do so.

Date:17 July 2014

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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