Local Government Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
- (i) When and (ii) by whom was the decision taken not to allow vehicle access to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve from 1 December 2019, (b) what are the details of the public participation process that was followed before this decision was taken, (c) how many (i) vehicles and (ii) visitors have visited the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve for each of the last three years, (d) what has been the income derived for (i) Mountain to Ocean (MTO) and (ii) CapeNature from (aa) vehicles and (bb) visitors in these periods, (e) how many visitors have presented a Wild Card upon entry to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, (f) what amounts have been spent on the maintenance of roads for vehicular access in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve for each of the last three years and (g) which entity was responsible for the maintenance costs?
- (i) A decision not to allow vehicle access to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve from 1 December 2019 was taken on 12 November 2019.
(ii) The decision not to allow vehicle access to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve from 1 December 2019 was taken by Mountain to Ocean (MTO) and was supported by CapeNature Jonkershoek Nature Reserve Management.
- MTO, who took the decision not to allow vehicle access to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve from 1 December 2019, confirmed that no formal public participation process preceded the decision.
- (i) The number of vehicles entering the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve is not captured as vehicles are not charged as a separate item.
(ii) The number of visitors who have visited the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve for each of the last three years is:
2017 – 11 441
2018 – 10 218
2019 – 17 536.
d) (i) (aa and bb) CapeNature does not have access to MTO’s financial statements as it is a private company.
d) (ii) (aa) CapeNature does not derive income from vehicles entering the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve as it does not charge a fee for vehicles. CapeNature issues hiking permits per person for the use of the hiking trails.
d) (ii) (bb) The income derived from visitors by CapeNature is:
2017 – R453 720
2018 – R498 420
2019 – R867 860.
(e) The number of visitors who presented a Wild Card upon entry are:
2017 – 6 527
2018 – 8 932
2019 – 8 030.
(f) The funding spent by CapeNature on the maintenance of roads for vehicular access on the CapeNature-managed portions of the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve road and trails is:
2017 – R45 000
2018 – R45 000
2019 – R286 000.
(g) CapeNature is responsible for maintenance costs of the portions of the Jonkershoek road and trails it manages while MTO is responsible for portions the portions they manage.
