Minister Barbara Creecy launches SA National Parks week in Pretoria

MEDIA INVITE 

13 SEPTEMBER 2023

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, will launch SA National Parks Week on 15 September 2023 in Pretoria. 

SA National Parks Week takes place from 16 – 24 September 2023 – where South Africans will gain free access to visit a national park. The aim is to encourage citizens to know their parks and enjoy their natural heritage especially communities that are bordering these protected areas as they might not ordinarily be able to afford the general entry fees. 

The free access offered through the South African National Parks (SANParks) system aims to inspire people to take pride in the country’s cultural heritage while spending time in and with nature. Elderly people who have lived all their lives next to a national park without ever seeing what is on the other side of the fence must be taken in their thousands to go and visit their neighbouring national parks.

The free access to the parks does not include accommodation and commercial activities in the park such as guided safaris in vehicles or guided walks, etc. It must be noted that the Namaqua National Park, the Boulders Penguin Colony, and the Cableway in Table Mountain National Park also do not form part of the National Parks Week free access programme. 

Members of the media are invited to attend as follows: 

Date:  15 September 2023

Time:  10:00 

Venue: Ronnie Mamoepa Media Centre, GCIS, Hatfield, Pretoria 

To RSVP contact:

Noma Bolani on 066 112 3746 / nbolani@dffe.gov.za or Simphiwe Mnikina on 082 955 4122 or smnikina@dffe.gov.za 

For media queries, contact Peter Mbelengwa on 082 611 8197

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY, FISHERIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT