Inkanyesi English July Sept 11

KZn Wildlife’s very own sharon ilett is at the forefront of

raising funds for rhinos in a most unique way – by sky jumping, and must be applauded for her coura-geous effort in the fi ght against rhino poaching.

Earlier this year Sharon skydived for rhinos along with rhino experts, Jabu-lani Ngubane and Paul Cryer, Andrew Zalou-mis, CEO of iSimangal-iso Wetland Park, 20 staff members from African Conservation Trust, and concerned members of the public.“My allegiance to rhino poaching required me to jump out of a plane to cre-ate awareness and raise

funds that will go to-wards rhino p r o t e c t i o n . The main rea-son for taking part was that my son who passed away

had a passion for rhinos which started when he was fi ve years old at Queen Elizabeth Park. We had two baby rhinos and used to clean and feed them under the watchful eye of a keep-er until they left the park,” said Sharon. In 10 weeks, 40 volunteers raised more than R180 000, and this would not have been possible without the support of rhino conser-vation experts and African Conservation Trust who are the custodians of the “Save the Rhinos & Skydive Campaign.”Sharon also got the hospi-tality industry, FEDHASA, on board this initiative, who donated R5 000 to the African Conservation Trust at a function held at Coast-lands on the Ridge, Umh-langa Rocks.The money will be used to purchase anti-poaching patrol equipment, and aerial surveillance-emer-gency helicopter support. For Sharon this project is very dear to her heart

and will be ongoing. Sadly however, poaching contin-ues…and the campaign to stop rhino is far from over for Ezemvelo’s Sharon Ilett.Note: Sharon has spoken about a possible national “Skydive for Rhinos” in 2012 taking place in vari-ous provinces, as well as overseas. At the moment, the African Conservation Trust is busy creating a new provincial initiative called Project Rhino KZN, and is trying to rope in public, private and NGO rhino stakeholders to cre-ate awareness and help raise funds to stop the car-nage of this heinous crime.

July - september 2011

offi cial newsletterezemvelo KZn Wildlife

Wina EKZN branded Jacket!

See page 11

offi cial newsletteroffi cial newsletteroffi cial newsletterezemvelo KZn Wildlifeezemvelo KZn Wildlifeezemvelo KZn Wildlifeezemvelo KZn Wildlife

fLying high to save the rhino

think out the Box

giving Back to the community

Laduma

going back to our roots

2

it has been some six months since our last magazine and much

has happened in this pe-riod – and a lot of this, i’m happy to say, it is positive.

PosiTiVEsLet me deal with these positives, even if, in this fi rst instance, we are recip-ients of favours because we have sometimes been guilty of our own misman-agement. Before I begin, I would like you all to pay more at-tention to our Ezemvelo website. This foreword is an encapsulation of broad messages I wish to empha-sise. But you should know that many of this year’s events and happenings are captured in our website. I would like more people to know about these happen-ings as it is important you all get a thorough under-standing of what we are

doing and what we have achieved.You will recall in the last Inkanyezi edition I spoke of my continuing admi-ration for our honourary offi cers and the wonder-ful role they perform in so many aspects pertaining to our protected areas. In one sense I gratefully ac-knowledge this; in another I refl ect that this assis-tance is partly a result of our own inability to do the things we are supposed to. Yes, it embarrasses me that it is our honourary offi cers that help fi ll pot holes in our roads and keep water pumps going when they break down, for example.Nevertheless, such has been this organisation’s unselfi sh and loyal devo-tion to a greater cause that I held a commemorative lunchtime event for them where I gave out certain awards. It was a wonder-ful occasion where I ad-dressed the gathering and expressed Ezemvelo’s real appreciation for their work. I confessed to them it was long overdue! Of course, my appreciation for them was not just con-fi ned to stepping in where we should have trodden ourselves but also ac-knowledging their greater contribution to our Stew-ardship programme, for example.

GiVE For noTHinG in rETUrn

As I said conservation measures are too big for us alone to implement. All stakeholders, like our hon-ourary offi cers, play a vital role in all fi elds of this dis-cipline. I would like you all to please refl ect on the prin-ciple of giving for no re-turn. Sometimes we have to perform knowing that there is no fi nancial incen-tive. I look, for example, at one of our very few active black honourary offi cers Muzi Mshengu up in the Escourt region. His com-mitment is an outstand-ing lesson in giving up valuable weekend time to help explain to our com-munities the benefi t of creating proper fi rebreaks, of when to burn and the consequences of burning grassland too much. He frequently attends educa-tion camps as well.Of course, there are also the recently publicised ef-forts of our honourary of-fi cers at Mpushini and the outstanding work they are doing within our Steward-ship programme in this region. In addition, I read of honourary offi cers that give of their time to patrol-ling sensitive areas and frequently intercepting il-legal dog hunting parties. All at their own expense

and time. All in all I salute these peo-ple, not just for what they do but the passion and commitment they show in doing it. I expressed a wish at this function that we should hold this event on an annual basis.

WElCoMEPlease on behalf of all of us let me welcome Greg Mar-tindale as the new head of our Stewardship unit. He has excellent credentials and I wish him the very best in this critical func-tion.

FUnCTions‘Ezemvelo’ held another function this year, this time in the context of en-couraging stakeholders to join us in our overall conservation endeavours. We titled this function “Meeting of Great Minds” as invitations were largely directed at former Natal Parks Board and former KwaZulu Department of Nature Conservation staff. I need not go into the de-tails that motivated this gathering. It is enough for me to say that the amal-gamation of these organi-sations into our presently constituted Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife was an un-happy one, one that I per-sonally would have had serious reservations about

I would like you all to please refl ect on the principle of

giving for no return.

I would like you all to please

thinK out the BoX!

3

its ultimate outcome had I been CEO at the time. This function had at its heart a sense of acknowledge-ment of the skills of these former staff, their huge contribution to conser-vation in KZN but most importantly a message that out of this respect we would like them to engage with us in going forward.Dear colleagues, yes, the past is the past but I do not harbour grudges and I will not be tied down by rumour and perception. I believe in the goodness of people, first and foremost and whatever happened then will not affect my be-lief that conservationists, employed with us or not, are people of goodwill and imbued with a spirit of caring and passion. We would all do well to adopt this approach and embrace such people’s willingness to guide us in the years ahead. After all, many of these stakehold-ers are people of vast ex-perience and knowledge.And now to something that is close to my heart. Let me turn your attention to our ‘Eco-System Ser-vices’ function which was held at the Elangeni Hotel at the beginning of No-vember. The vast major-ity of you would not have been there and I dare say that many of you will not be acquainted with what this study is about. This is why I bring it up. I need you all to understand the broad message of this re-search. It goes to the core of one of the main pillars of why we exist.The function gave a brief insight into our natural environment, how our greater society is degrad-ing our land and trans-forming it so rapidly that

we are effectively destroy-ing those very things that we need in our daily lives. I speak here of how the mismanagement and abuse of our land is slowly starving us of things we get for free; things like fresh water, clean air, fuel and firewood, food, tra-ditional medicines etc. It was no surprise that the keynote speaker at this function Justice Mchunu spoke about how serious the issue of food security is in KZN as well as South Africa as a whole. And the more these sys-tems are damaged - things like wetlands and soils and indigenous forests - the more it adversely affects the wild animals and the fauna flora that rely on them. And not only that. Disre-garding our environment has and will continue to have a costly impact on us as taxpayers. Simply

speaking we are going to have to pay more and more to replace these services. I talk here of having to build more dams because the existing ones are silting up and their water is being used up by alien plants, for example. And the more we destroy our good soils, the more we experience ero-sion and washaways and the consequences this has on our lives.I am hoping to hold a ma-

jor launch of this Eco-Sys-tems Services programme in the first half of next year. At this stage anyway, I want to congratulate our scientific division on their exceptionally hard work and the gradual role-out of this programme. They must all be aware that their skills and research are critical for our future well-being. Let me also pick up on another theme I men-tioned in June this year. I spoke then of the abil-ity of Ezemvelo to attract private enterprise towards supporting things we as an organisation cannot afford to achieve. I am de-lighted to announce that I am right in the middle of cementing a helicopter service that is prepared to help us in combatting rhino poaching in our re-serves. At present they are based at our Hluhluwe-iMfolozi protected area,

completing trial runs and smoothing the logistics associ-ated with this. This is excellent news and again demonstrates that with the right attitude and sense of commitment to our duties, others will follow and will-ingly lend a helping hand.

Final WordsFinally – and unfortunate-ly - this last point this leads me into negative territory! Many of you will know that we have lost an unaccept-ably large number of rhino at our Ndumo protected area this year. Yes, we are up against great and so-phisticated odds in this battle. I also know very well that we have wonder-ful and really passionate

APU’s and Field Rangers who will do everything in their power to win this war. But there is a bitter pill that we have had to suf-fer in Ndumo. The truth is that we suffered these rhi-no casualties largely be-cause we lost focus on our administrative responsi-bilities in this reserve. This is simply inexcusable and we must take responsibil-ity for this. This must never happen again. It is our fundamen-tal duty to ensure that management is operating efficiently and dutifully. It is a sad day that we have had to suspend one of our managers there. It is equal-ly sad that the negligence that accompanied this suspension also lies with those that should have en-sured it was detected and arrested far earlier.The same negligence ap-plied to our Opathe pro-tected area. Here again we lost something like 30 rhi-no over the past two or so years. I ask all those who consider themselves re-sponsible for this dreadful outcome to look closely at themselves. Why was this allowed to happen? Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife comprises many out-standing and committed people. Negligence and an abrogation of duty doesn’t just reflect badly on our organisational image but – and I need to remind you all of this - it also all under-mines your colleagues, our broader family. So many of our staff demonstrate huge goodwill and pas-sion in their work and yet in one or two foul swoops you have hurt their dignity and the very pride they carry with them in all they do. Think about this!

4

it’s up to us to do some-thing about saving our planet, and that’s

exactly what ezemvelo KZn Wildlife are doingIn the build up to COP17, which is happening in Durban from 28 Novem-ber to 9 December, Ezem-velo KZN Wildlife has announced ambitious environmental initia-tives which are bound to change the face of man-agement throughout Kwa-Zulu-Natal. Ezemvelo’s Dr Bandile Mkhize said they have launched a green initiative to convert the organisa-tion to a green economy – starting at its Head Offi ce and running throughout its properties within the Province. At the forefront of the ini-tiative is Ezemvelo’s Eco-logical Advice Co-ordina-tor, Caiphus Khumalo. “Environmental educa-tion, call it what you may but people have to be made aware of the huge damage being caused to our natural landscape. Our mandate is to expose the impact this is having on the quality and abun-

dance of natural resources that we depend on in our daily lives. Communi-ties can play a very sig-nifi cant role in helping combat global warming, and frankly the only way to do this is to join forces where everybody is doing something about it,” said Khumalo.

aWaReness toUREzemvelo KZN Wildlife re-cently embarked on a four-day tour around KwaZulu-Natal which involved the Cop17 task team visiting several destinations such as Escourt, Ladysmith, Dundee and Vryheid, con-tinuing to towns such as Louwsburg, Ulundi, eM-pangeni and Mthunzini, and fi nally ending at Um-lalazi, where the team vis-ited the Kwa-Mashu and eThekwini taxi ranks and the Mlazi-Mega City Mall.The purpose of the tours was to create awareness of climate change to citizens of the Province. By moving from town to town, signifi -cant numbers of people were reached and edu-cated about the impact of climate change.

The planned tour involved senior, community con-servation offi cers, armed with banners and plac-ards talking on the effects of global warming, ap-proaching masses at taxi ranks, towns and schools, distributing pamphlets on climate change. Peo-ple were also given a fi ve-minute talk about climate change and the upcoming COP17 event.At Ladysmith a meeting was held at a commu-nity hall where questions were asked by commu-nity members to the local municipality delegates, on issues around climate change.

After the meeting, a scheduled march moved around the city equipped with pamphlets, vuvuze-las, whistles and banners. At the end of the march the Mayor of Ladysmith thanked all those who had participated, and Ezemve-lo’s very own Scientist and co-ordinator of the tour, Caiphus Khumalo, further highlighted the impor-tance in conserving our nature and how commu-nity members can make a small change in reducing climate change. On the second day of the tour in Nongoma loud hailers and vuvuzelas were used to grab the attention

cLimate change is reaL!

5

of local citizens, and at Ulundi an-other march was undertaken fol-lowed by speeches. The mayor of Ondini, Joana Manana, did a small presentation, highlighting that the municipality wants to play a role in educating the public and creat-ing awareness on issues that con-tributed to climate change.Ezemvelo’s Caiphus Khumalo again talked about the upcoming conference to be held in Durban, and made the public aware of fac-tors that contributed to climate change such as the cutting down of trees, pollution, as well as how each person can make a differ-ence in reducing climate change. To make the event more fun, a play about climate change was pre-sented to the crowd and prizes in a form of T-shirts were given away.Empangeni and finally Mlalazi were visited before the bus head-ed to Durban where similar cam-paigns were done on climate change. Again a march was done around the city where Ezemvelo staff carried banners and sang about nature conservation and climate change. On the last day of the tour the bus proceeded to the final destination in Pietermaritz-burg and Midmar where informa-tion was disseminated to densely populated areas of the town, end-ing the tour on a high note.

What is climate change?Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the weather pat-terns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be a result of earth’s natural processes or as a result of human activities.

Who else is involved?Traditional authorities, local mu-nicipalities, KwaZulu-Natal Muse-um, uMngeni Water, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development (DAEARD), South African National Biodiversity Insitute (SANBI), De-partment of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the De-partment of health (DOH) are all on board to drive this campaign.

ezemvelo KZn Wildlife launched a new biodiversity programme at the elangeni

southern sun hotel at the end of october to make people in the Prov-ince more aware of the roles and values of natural areas around us.The eco-systems goods and services programme aimed to demonstrate the value of biodiversity in support-ing delivery of essential services to the people of KwaZulu-Natal, and to ensure the safe-guarding of the nat-ural processes and eco-systems that deliver these services.The presentation included talks by Myles Mander of EcoFutures, Dr Bandile Mkhize of Ezemvelo, and Professor Omie Singh from the Envi-ronmental Portfolio Committee. Dr Bandile Mkhize is confident that the biodiversity programme will make a valuable contribution to the up-and-coming deliberations that will be held in our Province at COP17 about how to prevent further environmen-tal degradation.Ezemvelo’s CEO, Dr Bandile Mkh-ize, said: “Unless we change the way we treat the resources it provides us with, then I’m afraid we are entering a landscape we hardly know the con-sequences of. There is an urgent need

to change the perception among de-cision makers and the public that our environment has low political and economic priority. Ezemvelo be-lieves that the programme will high-light the need to re-imagine the role and value of our environment in so-ciety’s lifestyles and livelihoods.”The message echoed in the presenta-tions highlighted the fact that our liv-ing world provided us with resources that have a fundamental value, be it fresh water, air, energy (fuel) and food. We all relied on these and took them for granted – it is the natural and healthy workings of our natural world that sustains us.Dr Mkhize also added: “Reserves have previously been set aside, de-veloped and managed to protect and conserve nature without creat-ing awareness of their full roles and values to society. Many natural areas which are not formally protected un-der law, are under severe pressure of infrastructure or agricultural de-velopment without considering the full costs of this to society as a whole. This has contributed significantly to these areas not receiving the political and economic support they deserve, and hence to the rampant environ-mental degradation we see daily.

Launch of Biodiversity Programme, a huge success!

6

“To remedy this situation, the role that natural areas play in meeting the needs of modern society and the value thereof, must be un-ravelled and explained to decision makers and the general public in relevant terms, that is in terms of what natural areas and the eco-system goods and services they produce, do for people.”He also added that Ezem-velo was a leading conser-vation agency and as such recognised that the next few decades would see growing attention paid to natural areas and the ser-vices provided by them to people. All in all the pilot proj-ect of this initiative was a huge success. Various stakeholders such as WES-SA hoped that the project would be ongoing to allow all stakeholders an oppor-tunity to collectively come together and add value as to how to pave the way forward and reduce cli-mate change.

Running, walk-ing, scoring goals, shooting or even

dunking – we were all part of a winning teamEzemvelo staff from all four regions turned out in full force for the much anticipated Sports Day held at UKZN’s Howard College Campus. The day started on a high note as people gathered on the sports fi eld – mingling, dancing, chatting – with music playing in the back-ground to get everyone in the mood.First up were the athletics and fun walk. While par-ticipants ran and walked in their designated routes, the crowd cheered as the soccer teams took to the fi eld. A proud UKhahlamba Soc-cer Team stole the show by beating Zululand 8-7 on penalties. And there was more bad news for the Zu-

luland Region when they went down 4-3 to QEP in a highly contested netball fi nal. QEP won the cup for one of their players, Gugu Zulu, who was injured during the game. She was rushed to hospital and is currently recovering. In athletics, Johanes Xaba from Ukhahlamba won the race while Sphamand-la Mkhwanazi took second place and Thulani Nzuza came in third. In the ladies category, Jennifer Albus from the Coastal Region outran everyone, while Phindile Dlamini from Zululand took the second spot and Thanda Ndlovu from QEP came in third.As the day progressed, more fun and games were introduced to the enthusi-astic crowd. These includ-ed the dunking game with Dr Bandile Mkhize and Ce-dric Coetzee participating.

Other sports enjoyed were drilling, shooting and tug-o-war, to name but a few. When declaring the games open, the CEO of Ezem-velo, Dr Mkhize, proposed that the Sports Day should become an annual event…but that still needs to be looked at. To make the Sports Day even more interesting, the former Bafana Bafana coach, Clive Barker, and Joel Faya from AmaZulu were in attendance. They helped to select Ezem-velo’s fi nal soccer team to participate in a tour-nament that will include Boxer Super Stores, Msinsi and KZN Sharks Board. To make this event pos-sible and a huge success our gratitude and thanks must go to our sponsors Old Mutual, Capitec Bank, Prosano, Sanlam, Ama-Zulu, ABI and Springbok Atlas, to name a few.

Let the games Begin

We were all part of a winning team

7

Fighting rhino poaching, discuss-ing food security

programmes and recog-nising honorary offi cers were all highlighted at this year’s annual gener-al meetingEzemvelo KZN Wildlife held its Annual General Meeting in November at EKZNW Headquarters where different issues such as poaching and food security programmes where discussed. The AGM ended with awards presentations to Honorary Offi cers for their efforts in conserving the biodiver-sity of the Province.First speaker of the day, Dr Bandile Mkhize men-tioned that as a country we have to work together to conserve biodiversity because it affects all of us. He said it is imperative to walk the walk with those who have the organisa-tions interest at heart. “Conservation is too big for us to conserve alone. That’s why we need other stakeholders to help,” he said. Dr Bandile stated the importance of engaging people around our pro-tected areas to help them understand why it’s im-portant to conserve the animals and nature we have.Dr Mkhize spoke strongly

about the perception that the organisation is moving away from its mandate. He assured the HO’s that the aim was to engage people on biodiversity education. Communities need to be engaged on maintaining the sustainability of re-sources. The organisation is rolling out the eco-sys-tems programme which is aimed at showing the gov-ernment and stakeholders its importance.“We need to stand to-gether and fi ght this war against rhino poaching at all levels, including the rhino markets. It’s not only in the hands of tourism and nature conservation-ist, but also in the hands of ordinary citizens. The syndicate is very sophis-ticated and our challenge is to be ahead of them,”

highlighted Dr Mkhize. As a keynote speaker, Mr Justice Mchunu talked about issues of food secu-rity we are facing as a Prov-ince and as a country, and how it affects us. He said strategies and campaigns such as one home and one garden, food vouchers, etc have been formulated to assist in issues that cause food insecurity and ul-timately affect the living span of the poor.Provincial Co-ordinator, Mr Brian van der Bank, gave a short history of how Honorary Offi cers began and how they have ex-panded over the years, to-day numbering 796. “The HO’s aim is to align them-selves with the same goals, strategies and aspirations of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. Their vision and mission

is totally integrated with Ezemvelo,” van der Bank said, adding that they have contributed a tremendous amount of time and mon-ey to assist the organisa-tion in fulfi lling its duties of conserving nature. Eugèn Joubert, Wildlife Consultant, told the meet-ing that San Parks Honor-ary Offi cers have raised more than R32-million and R1.7-million had been handed to Kruger National Park to buy equipment to assist in the war against poaching.Not only was the event successful and informa-tive, but guests also en-joyed great conversations which gave them a chance to share experiences with each other.

WorKing together

8

Ilanga newspaper and KZn hunting and conservation associa-

tion donate equipment for imfolozi trailIt was a blistering hot day at Mndindini base camp, where the iMfolozi Trail sets off. But the staff of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park were oblivious to the heat. They were more excited about the donation they were about to receive from the management of Ilanga Newspaper. Arthur Koningkramer, Ilanga Newspaper Man-aging Director, and Peter Koningkramer from KZN Hunting and Conserva-tion Association, showed their humanitarian spirit by donating 10 backpacks, water bottles and head lamps to be used by fi eld rangers and trailists dur-ing the iMfolozi Wilder-ness Trail.Trails Manager Ncamisile Khumalo expressed her appreciation on behalf of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. She told dignitaries about Mbiya Camp which is cur-rently under construction and will serve as a cultural village. In addition, the camp will be a base where learners can learn conser-vation programmes and cultural activities. Khuma-

lo showed her token of ap-preciation by inviting the donors to go on a Primi-tive Trail. Arthur Koningkramer said his personal wish was to make the reserves relevant to communities for their survival, and appreciated that Ezemvelo is also striv-ing for the same goal. To assist the communi-ties he encouraged the or-ganisation to source more funding from private or-ganisations who could ap-ply through the European Union (EU) or Lotto or-ganisation, as government owned organisations can-not apply for these funds. He offered to assist Ezem-velo in co-ordinating the sponsorship through these organisations, to ultimately help uplift the communities and plant the seed of conserving nature to young children. Koningkramer stressed the reasons they made this donation was because they wanted to support camps like Mbiya for the benefi t of young learners.The event was also attend-ed by a journalist from Ilanga who went on the iMfolozi Wilderness Trail. Patrick Sibeko and Sihle Nxumalo, both Conserva-tion Managers of HiP, were also present.

traiLBLaZers!

conservation is everyone’s busi-ness… for today

and the future… which is why we all work together.It was a day to remember when former employees of the Natal Sharks Board and the Department of Nature Conservation joined forces with Ezem-velo staff at Head Offi ce on 3 November for the much-awaited Indaba of Great Minds. Former role play-ers such as Dr Ian Player, Dr George Hughes, Peter Thompson, Dave Cooke, and John and June Vincent took part in the event, which was a remarkable success. The formation of the fi rst Advisory Forum was announced by Ezem-velo’s CEO, Dr Bandile Mkhize, who was instru-mental in making the his-torical meeting happen. The reason for the event was to engage further knowledge going to the future and to take it to the next level, as well as to fi nd common ground where we could contrib-ute ideas and suggestions on how to make Ezemvelo a bigger and better brand and organisation. COP17 co-ordinator, Cai-phus Khumalo, gave his presentation on climate change, and emphasised that every person needed to play a role to curb cli-mate change. Ezemvelo’s very own rhino cop, Jabu-lani Ngubane, also gave his presentation on matters pertaining to poaching, the newest innovations being used by Ezemvelo,

and the successful arrests that were made during the year.Jabulani also highlighted the fact that in terms of all provinces, KZN had the lowest statistics (29) this year with regards to curb-ing rhino poaching.“Our aim at Ezemvelo is to ensure staff are adequately trained and empowered to combat the rhino poach-ing threat and rapidly reduce the rate of rhino poaching. However, our challenges are the high profi le syndicates, staff in-volvement and obtaining criminal convictions. Our gratitude goes out to ev-ery individual and NGOs who have helped with our fi ght. I know we’ve won this war before and I know we will win it again,” said Jabulani.Dr Mkhize then addressed the visitors, adding that he was aware of the circum-stances of the departure of staff when the two organi-sations joined forces in ’98, and that he regretted how it had occurred. “Our belief is that every-

great minds thinK aLiKe!

9

body must get involved and make conservation their business, and every-one can constitute in one way or the other to con-servation for current and future generations. Ezem-velo wants to be a world leader and in order to at-tain world leadership, we should know what will set aside us as leaders. It is for this reason that we are go-ing to leave no stone un-turned to make conserva-tion better. All we can do is to learn from the past but we cannot let the past hold us back. We need your assistance to take Ezemvelo to the next level because all of us have a re-sponsibility to do that. We need to walk the walk and help make the organisa-tion the best it can be. The question of colour will be a thing of the past and I know that together we can achieve it,” re-iterated Dr Mkhize.The general consensus from the former conserva-tion employees were that a forum be formed to take Ezemvelo to the next lev-el. After much delibera-tion, the forum consisting of seven members such as Paul Phelan, Roger Porter, Drummond Denshan, Pe-ter Thompson, Dr George Hughes and Dave Cooke, was finalised. The forum will deal with rhino man-agement and mentor-ship in the next meeting, scheduled for the end of November. The new found partnership be-tween old and new has been welcomed by Ezem-velo, and Dr Mkhize is adamant such a partner-ship can only make Ezem-velo stronger, bigger and better, to tackle issues in the future with such great minds on board.

it was a day of jubila-tion for 10 amakhosi when ezemvelo KZn

Wildlife handed them a 10-seater land cruiser game viewing vehicle for nselweni Bush campTourists and visitors to the Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP) will be delighted to know that their collec-tive patronage over the past two years in the form of the Community Con-servation Levy has paid off. Their contributions have enabled Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to donate a 10-seater Land Cruiser game viewing vehicle to a community owned camp inside the park.Opened in December 2009, the Nselweni Bush Camp is a community initiative project jointly run and owned by the 10 Amakhosi living around the HiP. Since it opened its doors to visitors in early 2010, the camp has gen-erated some R1.6-million with an operating profit of

more than R500 000.Fundisiwe Dlamini, the Ezemvelo Community Levy Co-ordinator, said the purchasing of a game viewing vehicle was the idea of the Amakhosi. In addition to the R420 000 Land Cruiser, sufficient funds were available to also replace eight fridges.Such has been the success of the eight-unit camp that Ezemvelo KZN Wild-life has set aside R3,3-mil-lion to build and furnish two more units – a request from the Amakhosi so that each unit can represent each iNkosi.Speaking on behalf of the Amakhosi, Inkosi Bonga Mdletshe of Emdletsheni Traditional Authority said the Nselweni lodge’s suc-cess was a ‘dream come true’“Wonderful! We never ex-pected the lodge to bring in this amount of reve-nue in such a short space of time. In fact, we have earned R800 000 more

than we projected for this time period.”Mdletshe took the oppor-tunity to challenge other Amakhosi to help fight the upsurge of rhino poach-ing. He also wished that all the units carry the history of each iNkosi and its tra-dition – the idea being to educate the tourist about the traditional values of each tribal community.Welile Mtshali, Mpila Hos-pitality Manager, added that the lodge was fully booked until November 2011.“Nselweni Bush Camp is Ezemvelo’s flagship. This community project has done very well in the tour-ism sector,”said Dr Bandile Mkhize. “I will be meet-ing a company who has shown interest in build-ing a ‘Peace Monument’ at Nselweni Bush Camp. The monument will serve as a remembrance to staff that died in the line of duty

giving BacK to the community

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ezemvelo kicks off tourno launch at hilltopIt was laduma time when

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife eagerly kicked off their annual Ezemve-lo Cup Tournament at its award-winning resort at Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe. The Ezemvelo Cup Tournament is a Corporate Social Investment Project of EKZNW aimed at enriching and empowering currently disadvan-taged soccer and netball clubs from communities surrounding Hluhlu-we iMfolozi Park. The aim of such a tourno is to:

• Motivate communities into di-recting their energy and power into constructive and patriotic actions;

• Expose soccer/netball as a career choice and vehicle to success;

• Raise environmental awareness on Ezemvelo’s current activities; and

• Improve working relationships with communities.

Dr Bandile Mkhize added: “We are creating awareness of the sport and also playing for the reduction of cli-mate change. Our responsibility to reducing climate change is crucial for the sake of our children.”This programme involves a soccer and netball tournament for com-munity members from the 10 Tra-

ditional Council areas bordering Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. They are:

• Obuka Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Biyela;

• Somopho Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Mthembu;

• Mhlana Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Mthet-hwa;

• Mpukunyoni Traditional Coun-cil under the leadership of Inkosi Mkhwanazi;

• Mpembeni Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi DJ Hlabisa;

• Matshemnyama Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi M Hlabisa;

• Mandlakazi Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Zulu;

• Zungu Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Zungu;

• Ximba Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Mlaba; and

• Mdletsheni Traditional Council under the leadership of Inkosi Mdletshe.

The annual Ezemvelo Cup Tourna-ment – which started three years ago – is sponsored by bigwigs such as AmaZulu FC, Nedbank, Boxer Super Stores, Total SA, Ukhozi FM, Katanga Parking Services and an op-

tometrist from Durban.There will be a total of 24 games in this tournament including the semi-fi nals and fi nal match. The teams participating are:

• Mandlakazi Cheetahs;• Matshamnyama Rhinos;• Mdletsheni Duickers;• Mhlana Zebras;• Mlaba Giraffes;• Mpembeni Buffalos;• Mpukunyoni Bushbucks;• Obuka Leopards;• Somopho Lions; and • Zungu Elephants.

All soccer matches will be offi ciated by accredited match offi cials to be provided by SAFA and each match will be offi cially observed by a SAFA match commissioner to detect any irregularities. The soccer teams will be competing for the fi rst prize of R15 000. Second position wins R8000, third position wins R4000 and fourth position wins R2000. In netball, the winning team walks away with R8000, second team wins R6000, third team gets R3000 and the fourth team R1000. Matches kicked off on October 29, and the fi nal play-offs will happen on December 16 at Msani.The fi nals will be held on December 16, 2011 at KwaMsane Stadium in Mtubatuba. Don’t miss it!

Laduma!DON’T MISS IT!

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Wina EKZN branded

Jacket!

1. Which venue was the ezemvelo sports day held?

2. What is climate change?

3. Who is raising funds for rhinos in a unique way?

4. Who sponsored the imfolozi trail equipment?

5. Which bush camp received a brand new land

cruiser?

[email protected]

the winner of the last competition is : mvelo msweli.

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ezemvelo KZn Wild-life were recently given the privilege

of showing off two of their world-renowned resortsEzemvelo KZN Wildlife happily hosted the crew of the popular cultural music programme, Roots, shown on SABC1 on Sundays at 6.30pm. Gracing our Didima and Hilltop Resorts, the TV crew – consisting of direc-tor Tez Mothibe, make-up artist Mabongi Mkh-ize, production assistant, Mandisa Nkongani and presenter Tebogo Mahlae-la – opted to shoot three episodes at our renowned resorts during Heritage month. Flying in from Johannes-

burg courtesy of Ezem-velo KZN Wildlife, the TV team were guests of the Ezemvelo team – Vumani Phoswa, Communications Manager Musa Mntambo, and Media Manager Wa-heeda Peters. Also form-ing part of the entourage were Lloyd Monyakane from SABC, Gospel singer Mthetheleli Mbonani, and trainee presenter Unathi Cetywayo.The first destination was the captivating Didima Resort, situated in the uKhahlamba-Drakens-berg Heritage Site – South Africa’s first cultural and environmental World Her-itage Site. The crew reached the camp at 1am in the morn-

ing, and after several hours of much deserved sleep, the entire team met up at breakfast to discuss the day’s programme. On the agenda was shooting two of the episodes at the sce-nic Didima Resort, includ-ing the Rock Art Centre, which set the backdrop for the shoot. By 2pm on Saturday the shoot was wrapped up and we headed to the award-winning Hilltop Resort at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. Arriving at around 3am, the crew rested, but by 10am was in full swing shooting the final episode. The crew was mesmer-ised by the spectacular views on the summit and re-iterated that they’ll be

back to visit the resorts. By mid-afternoon the entou-rage was back on the road heading to King Shaka International Airport for flights home. To our delight we were giv-en a chance to view some spectacular game such as zebra, white rhino and a bald eagle merrily drink-ing water at one of the ponds. The crew was in such awe of the white rhi-no and definitely enjoyed being out in the open, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The Roots crew will be back towards the end of the year to shoot two more episodes.

going BacK to our roots

The roots crew will be back