03-05-2025
iSimangaliso says marchers were misinformed
The Isimangaliso Wetland Park authority has said last Monday's marchers were misinformed regarding the inundation of farming fields due to back-flooding.
This after the EFF led a march to the park authority's offices on 28 April, demanding the Lake St Lucia Estuary mouth be opened, and making a claim of the land in the Futululu protected area.
iSimangaliso spokesperson Bheki Manzini said marchers were made to believe the park 'is blocking water from flowing out into the sea by closing the estuary mouth, resulting in their farms being flooded with water'.
'During the march, it became clear that the majority of marchers were misinformed by the organisers when they learnt that in fact the estuary mouth breached on 10 January and it remains open,' said Manzini.
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'Protesters marched to the iSimangaliso offices but, contrary to the usual common standard practice, they had no memorandum of demands to be handed to iSimangaliso.
'The organisers just delivered a speech, and therefore there is no signed memorandum of demands, agreed upon, and to be responded to.
'Despite the fact that the march was held on a public holiday when iSimangaliso offices were officially closed, iSimangaliso management made itself available to receive the memorandum of demands from the marchers, to no avail.
'This comes as no surprise as the reasons used by the organisers to mobilise people to join the march were frivolous, the real reasons known only by the politicians that co-ordinated the march,' said Manzini.
Futululu land claim
Regarding a demand to claim land at Futululu, Manzini pointed out that the forest is 'State land managed by iSimangaliso Wetland Park authority'.
'Cabinet Memorandum No 5 of 2002 on government's position on settlement of restitution claims on protected areas, World Heritage sites and State forests under national government is explicit.
'iSimangaliso therefore implores all law-abiding citizens to respect the legislation of this country or approach the designated legal institutions that act as an arbiter on these matters.'
Mentioning land invasions of Futulu forest in March and August 2022, after which arrests were made by SAPS, numerous attempts to engage with the community had not yielded positive results.
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The March 2022 invasion led iSimangaliso to seek a court intervention from the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
'The 11 April 2022 ruling made by the Pietermaritzburg High Court remains in effect today,' said Manzini.
Those arrested for the invasions were later released by the Mtubatuba District Court on a warning.
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