Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Makhotso Sotyu has handed over forestry plantations to communities in Mount Fletcher in the Eastern Cape as part of government’s efforts to transform the economy and create jobs

As part of the government’s efforts to transform the economy and create jobs, Makhotso Sotyu, deputy minister of forestry, fisheries, and the environment, recently donated forestry plantations to local communities in Mount Fletcher, Eastern Cape.

The Batlokoa and Makhoba communities’ quality of life will be significantly improved by the transfer of control over these plantations. She urged young people and women to take advantage of this opportunity on Thursday because it would also result in the creation of jobs.

These plantations total about 362.31 hectares in size together.

The Batlokoa community was given control of the Lehana and Fort Usher plantations, while the Makhoba community was given control of the Makhoba plantation.

The National Forests Acts (NFA), 1998’s provisions are followed in the transfer of these plantations (Act No.84 of 1998).

“Forestry is one of the key economic sectors with the potential and ability to sustainably contribute to the development of this nation.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has been in charge of a process to develop the Masterplan for the forestry sector as part of the initiatives to support that growth, Sotyu said.

The transfer of plantations is included in the Masterplan, which focuses primarily on interventions that will improve investments and transformation in the sector.

This will allow the government to concentrate on policy and regulation of the sector in an effort to allow it to thrive.

To ensure sector transformation, growth, and development, the Plan was approved in 2020.

The transferring plantations agreement is the result of discussions between the Departments of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Public Works and Infrastructure with a number of municipalities to facilitate the re-purposing of all state land with expired leases for commercial forestry plantations.

“The historic handover supports the government’s priority of economic transformation and job creation as outlined in the Forestry Master Plan, which seeks to ensure inclusive growth and transformation while luring in the necessary investment to develop the sector and generate economic and employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

The Plan strikes a balance between the benefits of forestry resources to the environment, economy, and society, the Department said.

According to the deputy minister, her office will offer the assistance needed to make these plantations a going concern in the future.

In order to create a plan that will guarantee the management of these resources in a sustainable manner moving forward, the department will collaborate with the affected communities, according to Sotyu.

Where possible, the communities will be fairly and openly connected with interested industry role-players.

“These key players in the industry should be seen as strategic partners who can provide additional knowledge and resources to help recapitalize plantations.

This will be their contribution to the Masterplan, and we sincerely hope that they will help out when necessary.

The department stated that although negotiations and discussions as well as the related procedures are frequently drawn-out and complicated, they ultimately succeeded in achieving the goal of empowering our communities.