Former Durban Deputy Mayor and now comedian, Logie Naidoo, has been dragged out of the political wilderness and appointed to the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Board (EKZNW) in a shocking about-turn.
The revelation comes as a result of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) MEC, Ravi Pillay, having announced the new Ezemvelo board earlier today.
In appointing the 12-member board, MEC Pillay has totally ignored well-considered inputs by the provincial conservation committee and loaded the board with ANC political appointees.
While the confidential conservation committee discussions pertaining to the board cannot be disclosed, the Democratic Alliance will reveal that MEC Pillay has gone against many recommendations made by the multi-party committee.
Apart from Naidoo, former ANC Legislature Speaker Lydia Johnson will chair the board while another inexperienced young ANC cadre Njabulo Maxwell Mtolo will also join the board.
Other newly appointed board members include;
• Iain Ewing – Conservationist
• Siyabonga Alfred Hubert Mkhize – environmental law
• Inkosi Mxolisi Xolo – Traditional leadership
• Siyabonnga Mkhize – Administrative Law
• Zethu Qunta – Finance and Commerce
• Andrew Robert Muir – Environmental Law and Zoology
• Nomdeni Xolile Banda – Management and Accounting
• Tallman Lindizwe Sibiya – Administration
• Olivia Symcox (Jones) – PR, Marketing and Conservancy
The DA is stunned at the stance taken by MEC Pillay in appointing these board members. Not only has he dropped Ezemvelo by letting politics get the better of his judgement, he has potentially ruined a sterling opportunity to pull the beleaguered entity out of the ashes.
Suggestions from the DA, that people with extensive conservation experience dominate the board have largely been ignored as was the recommendation that a member of the hospitality sector be appointed in order to fast-track EKZNW’s long awaited plan to outsource its own hospitality division.
Moreover, the DA has deep reservations about former board members now being appointed to the new board. It is for this very reason that the investigation into the suspended board should timeously have been completed. Those responsible for the mismanagement must be made to account – while others should be exonerated and have their names cleared.
MEC Pillay now has to take full responsibility for his executive appointments and an about turn in Ezemvelo affairs; including rhino poaching which must happen if the entity is to be saved.
The DA will not take the pressure off MEC Pillay as the executive custodian of our wildlife. It is a great pity that politics has again taken centre stage, while biodiversity protection takes the back seat. The DA wishes the new members the best of luck – with a guarantee that political oversight will be robust and constant.