Heretage wetland park court centence

Description:

An illegal development in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has led to a hefty court sentence for a Limpopo businessman.


The landmark judgement was handed down in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Thursday in respect of the unauthorised structure built in the Park, South Africa's first World Heritage Site.


Renier Roos, an architect from Ellisras,Mpumalanga province in South Africa, pleaded guilty to five contraventions of the Protected Areas Act of 2003. These included unlawfully conducting development; damage to vegetation; intentional disturbance of soils; and leaving litter and other waste in an sensitive egological area.


Roos was found to have cleared the indigenous bush to build a family holiday home - with evidence of future expansion - overlooking Lake Nhlanga at Bhanga Nek within the Coastal Forest Reserve of iSimangaliso.


He was also involved in website advertisements and bookings for other unauthorised developments in the area.


Hefty fine


Roos was fined R100 000 and sentenced to five years in prison, with R70 000 and the prison sentence suspended for five years. The sentence is suspended provided that a number of conditions are met by 30 November 2009. These include refuse removal and rehabilitation of the site; no activities by him, or any connections, relating to any development or accommodation within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park; closure or blocking of all the roads to the site; and the removal of the well point. Roos must also publish an advertisement in the angling magazines, ‘Tightlines' and ‘The Complete Fly Fisherman', urging would-be developers to ‘do the right thing' and contact the Park's Authority, which is the authorised entity for legal development. Attorneys agreed all seized building materials were forfeited to the Park.


Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of the Wetland Park Authority and Dr Bandile Mkhize, CEO of EKZNW said, ‘This court ruling is a victory for conservation and for sustainable tourism development. ‘The stiff penalties also show these illegal activities are being taken seriously.' The Green Scorpions - environmental management inspectors within the national Department of Environmental Affairs - also welcomed the court ruling an illegal development in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has led to a hefty court sentence for a Limpopo businessman.

Renier Roos, an architect from Ellisras, pleaded guilty to five contraventions of the Protected Areas Act of 2003, according to a joint media release from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. These included unlawfully conducting development; damage to vegetation; intentional disturbance of soils; and leaving litter and other waste. Roos was found to have cleared the indigenous bush to build a family holiday home - with evidence of future expansion - overlooking Lake Nhlanga at Bhanga Nek within the Coastal Forest Reserve of iSimangaliso.