Safcol loses R20m annually to timber syndicates

The South African Forestry Company Limited (Safcol) is losing millions of rand from timber theft at its Mpumalanga plantations and its nature reserves are being damaged by illegal mining, threatening eco-tourism.

The state forestry company made this admission this week when it briefed the parliamentary portfolio committee on planning, monitoring and evaluation during an oversight visit to its plantations in Sabie.

Safcol said it was losing almost R20m a year through illegal harvesting by organised syndicates.

Safcol acting CEO Sibalo Dlamini told the committee these acts of criminality involved highly organised and heavily armed syndicates who entered the plantations at night to harvest timber.

Due to the vastness of the plantations, which stretch to thousands of hectares spanning Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, securing the whole area was a challenge for the entity, Dlamini said.

He said a process was under way to install digital security systems for early detection. Safcol has also attributed the emergence of small sawmillers for contributing to illegal harvesting and called on the government to tighten regulations in the sector.

The committee also heard about illegal mining activities in Safcol’s nature reserves, which is threatening eco-tourism. This has forced the company to close some of the hiking trails due to security risks posed by heavily-armed illegal miners.

Committee members agreed with a proposal by Safcol to have timber theft declared a priority crime and for tighter legislative measures preventing mining licences being issued in areas designated as forestry land.

During the visit, the committee commended Safcol’s unqualified audit and the introduction of a mechanised harvesting system which significantly reduced the number of injuries and fatalities in the company’s operations.

The committee also welcomed the company’s incubation and enterprise development programmes, which have empowered more than 108 small, medium and micro enterprises in the past three years.

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