What is the annual cost of implementing the 4x4 ban within the Elepehant Coast ?

Sun rise on the beach

There is so much documentation out there discussing the NEGATIVE ECONOMIC impacts of the 4x4 ban, but it appears that these have not been read by the folks on the ground within the #ISIMANGALISO wetland park and surrounding rural areas of Umkhanyakude district municipality.

firstly there is the OCCASIONAL PAPER 20 BY KZN TOURISM    found here Tourism KwaZulu-Natal's Occasional Research Papers and Ad Hoc Research Projects

then there are a number of documents that were live on this web site http://www.acerafrica.co.za/ which have since been removed or made unavailable to the public. Acer Africa has been the #IWPA or iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authorities preferred environmental consulting company for a number of years.

The IWPA and associates have many nasty political tricks that they implement, and their PPP or Public Participation Programs are quite well disguised and often hidden from the public through disingenuous tricks and sneaky public perception management strategies.

The current situation where they (IWPA and associates) hold impromptu road blocks and search vehicles for alcoholic beverages when en-route the the local St. Lucia beaches    is also an emotional issue as most South Africans appreciate a beer with their braai.  when this is a problem then the South African Tourists tend to pack up and leave town.  

This attack on our rights to enjoy a beer with a braai is quite a big thing from a tourism perspective, as it chases the lo0cal and domestic tourist out of town.  In the past (pre 2002) this was the main stay of all tourism in St. Lucia with international visitors being very few and far between.  The IWPA decided for us that we should no longer welcome South African folks, but focus on international tourism.

If you take your time and evaluate the OCCASIONAL PAPER 20  (link above) you will soon see that more than 20 000 folks lost their economic opportunities due to the knock on impact of South African Folks no longer feeling welcome within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage site.

these economic  losses are huge,  and have never been fully disclosed to the public at any PPPM or Public Participation Process Meeting.held by the IWPA.  WE will soon be challenging this, as the original ROD (Record of Decision)  clearly stipulates that this must happen.  there is supposewd to be an annual review which the minister gets.  this annual review is supposed to (at least in my mind) go through a public participation process in terms of the this ROD but we as the public are left in the dark and fed the biggest pile of hog wash in show and tell meetings that are meant to be Public Participation Process Meetings.

This will soon be a topic of discussion t the Mtubatuba Locla Municipality RDP process, and cause many red faces and lots of  political posturing.  The St. Lucia tourism folks need to brace themselves for the fall out from these political posturing moves and the public reaction that will follow.

WE as the public will soon be requesting an explanation from the new minister of tourism.... asking for the economic costs incurred to enforce the 4x4 Ban including the cost of lost tourism.

this will cause many problems and open the can of worms, spilling them on the dinner table while the guests are eating ....

We can expect some strange reactions from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and the Minister, as this is a big problem where the local community of the St. Lucia area ;ost more than 20 000 jobs due to government attitude. 

Which way the Mtubatuba Local municipality will react is an open question, as these are all new councilors, with none of those who were in power way back in 2000 still being in power....

Frankie2socks is in town....