Timber theft by ‘organised syndicates’ costing state forestry company almost R20m per year

Staff Reporter

State-owned forestry company SAFCOL is losing nearly R20 million a year to timber theft by “highly organised and heavily armed syndicates” operating in its Mpumalanga plantations.

Illegal mining in its nature reserves is also damaging sensitive areas and forcing the closure of some hiking trails, Parliament said on Friday.

Briefing the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation during an oversight visit to SAFCOL’s plantations in Sabie, the company said it was “losing almost R20 million a year through illegal harvesting by organised syndicates.”

SAFCOL Acting Chief Executive Officer Sibalo Dlamini told MPs the criminals “enter the plantations at night to harvest timber,” forcing the company to “install digital security systems for early detections”.

The plantations span thousands of hectares across Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

SAFCOL, a 100% state-owned company, manages large plantation assets and related facilities in the region, including an R&D centre outside Sabie and ecotourism