Free State’s Golden Gate Highlands Park used as crime corridor, committee warns

The select committee on agriculture, land reform, and mineral resources has expressed concern that the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in Free State is being exploited as a corridor for organised crime.

Committee Chairperson Mpho Modise said the committee is working with various stakeholders and is committed to protecting the integrity of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park and addressing the various challenges it faces.

This comes after an oversight visit to the park to assess management challenges about illegal land occupation, a co-management agreement with the Dithabeng Communal Property Association (CPA), and the smuggling of illegal goods, particularly stolen cattle and drugs, through the park into Lesotho.

Committee sounds alarm over organised crime

During the visit, the committee inspected the Maluti picnic site and surrounding facilities, strategically located near the border with Lesotho.

According to the committee, there is a house on park land, intended for accommodating firefighting personnel, that has been illegally occupied by someone who was convicted on an unrelated criminal matter and is currently incarcerated.

“Unfortunately, family members of the illegal occupant swiftly moved in post-arrest, further complicating the situation,” the committee said in a statement.

“This illegal occupation not only hampers visitor access to the picnic site but also restricts South African National Parks’ (SANParks) ability to provide essential accommodation for staff amid rising demand.”

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SANParks is taking legal action to enforce the eviction and get additional illegal inhabitants off park properties after obtaining an eviction order against the illegal occupant that was abruptly rescinded.

The committee said that during the visit, it also heard that the park has become a corridor for highly organised criminal syndicates involved in the transportation of stolen cattle and horses from neighbouring commercial farms into Lesotho.

“Access control measures that were previously in place at park entrances have been compromised due to theft and vandalism, leading to unmanned entries,” the committee said.

Access controls

Plans are underway to restore these access controls. Currently, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is present along the road to aid in border management.

The committee has proposed a number of recommendations in response to the site visits’ findings.

These include addressing the need for increased traffic law enforcement along the R712 provincial road and referring the matter to the Select Committee on Security and Justice for coordination on illegal occupation and the transportation of illicit goods.

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