Amanqabe Traditional Council head, Chief Manzolwandle Sandile, says he hopes that the handing over of forestry plantations to communities to manage will bring about economic activity and job creation to the rural areas where they are located.
He was speaking at a handover ceremony of Ntlangaza and Wilo forestry plantations in Mqanduli, which have been handed over to his traditional council to manage on behalf of communities.
The handover, held on January 31, marked the culmination of successful negotiations and signing of agreements between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), under the National Forest Act of 1998, and traditional councils. The handover ceremony was overseen by DFFE deputy minister, Makhotso Sotyu.
Sotyu, on January 30, also presided over a similar handover ceremony, where she handed over forestry plantations in Kei Mouth and Qolorha, Centane, under Mnquma Local Municipality.
“When the democratic government came to power in 1994, an assessment of all the forests in the country was done, and government decided it will be difficult for it to manage the forestry and subsequently called on traditional councils to apply for management of forestry in their communities, on behalf of those communities,” said Sotyu.
She added that government wanted to see communities benefiting economically from the forestry handed over for them to manage.
“The department is going to take it upon itself to look for investors to assist communities and train them in managing the plantations,” Sotyu added.
Chief Manzolwandle Sandile of AmaNqabe Traditional Council, which has been given management rights to Ntlangaza Plantation, said the application for management of the plantation was made as far back as 2014.
“I was working in KwaZulu-Natal for a long time, and it was during that time that I heard of this programme by government. I then brought this to the attention of the traditional council, and we decided to submit the application for the management of Ntlangaza Plantation. The decision to apply was premised on the fact that our area does not have fertile land for agricultural purposes, and we hope the handover signals the beginning of an economic boom for our area,” said Sandile.
DFFE said that the plantations, predominantly eucalyptus, play a vital role in sustainable forestry management and are essential for the transformation agenda that is emphasised in the department’s Forestry Masterplan.
Chief Sandile has called on government to fence and increase security around the plantations to prevent theft that he said was a problem currently.
