GEORGE NEWS - A tender process for the lease and management of continued forestry plantation at Witfontein is being finalised by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).
This was revealed by Peter Mbelengwa, the department's chief director of communication, in response to a petition and concerns of the Camphersdrift, Glenbarrie and Heatherlands Neighbourhood Watch (CGHNW) regarding the state of the Witfontein plantation.
To specific enquiries from George Herald, Mbelengwa replied that Witfontein plantation will not become an exit area.
"The Witfontein plantation forms part of the 22 402 hectares of state forest plantation areas in the Western Cape Province recommended for continued commercial forestry as a land use.
"In 2022, the DFFE, through an open tender process, called for proposals from potential bidders to lease, develop, operate, plan and control the
22 402ha. In this regard, the department is in the process of finalising the lease agreement with the successful bidder."
Mbelengwa said an exit lease agreement was concluded in March 2005 between the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and a successful bidder on an open tender, but this has came to an end.
"The lease provided a framework in which the successful bidder was to harvest the standing timber on affected plantations periodically and withdraw from commercial forestry operations," he said.
"This agreement came to an end in 2020 and it coincided with the pandemic and the change of departments from the former Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to DFFE."
Protection against fires
Regarding the CGHNW's concerns about the fire risk surrounding Witfontein plantation, he said various resources are deployed for firefighting and fuel reduction activities in Western Cape.
"George has bomber, spotter, and chopper aircraft on standby to cover Southern Cape plantations such as Buffelsnek, Jonkersberg, Homtini, Witfontein and Bergplaas. Forestry villages, land-invaded areas and other community fire-prone spots in the surrounding areas will be covered by these resources."
Fuel reduction at Witfontein
Fuel reduction activities are executed through a Forestry Support Programme team stationed in Jonkersberg. The department also issued a Section 23 licence in line with the National Forests Act for the removal of windfalls and damaged timber, which assists in clearing access paths and roads.
"There are currently 824 ground teams in the Western Cape Province to fight veld fires, with a total of 160 participants deployed closer to the DFFE plantations. These teams are ready to be dispatched, as has always been the case, to fight fires that may occur during the summer fire seasons.
The Umbrella Fire Protection of the Western Cape plays the important role as incident commander and communicates with the assigned DFFE officials as and when there are fires."
*The DFFE is also a member of the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association.
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