The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has appointed Abe Sibiya as the Head of Biodiversity Conservation and is “working towards rebuilding the agency’s image and strengthening its relationship with the industry” it has announced.
Sibiya’s experience of management in the conservation and tourism industries would be invaluable to the MTPA and the province at large, said Sam Maluleka, Acting CEO of MTPA. “[The appointment] will go a long way in strengthening the Mpumalanga brand and ensuring that Mpumalanga reclaims its position globally.”
Prior to his appointment at MTPA, Sibiya was Managing Executive for Kruger National Park, at SANParks, a position he held from 2009 to 2014. He also acted as CEO of SANParks during his tenure.
The MTPA has been plagued by internal instability for many years and has been facing serious financial problems since its inception in 2006. The agency’s problems culminated at the beginning of this year with the suspension of its CEO, Jacques Modipane, over ‘continuous irregular expenditure’ and ‘the theft of rhino horns’.
However, Kholofelo Nkambule, spokesperson for the MTPA, told Tourism Update the agency was back on track.
Nkambule said because MTPA had been in the spotlight for a while it needed to work hard toward rebuilding its image and strengthening its relationship with stakeholders. “The extent of the pressure put on MTPA requires that we work even harder. A lot has changed over the years and the most important thing is to get the basics right of managing the parks. Infrastructure maintenance needs to be in place. We need to put systems in place, provide the necessary resources to staff and hold them accountable. We also need to determine how much of the resources we have and how we can work with what is available. Budget remains a challenge but we will have to work within our means and make sure we prioritise.”
