Stricter control at KNP southern gates

The Kruger National Park (KNP) is currently implementing additional gate-access control systems at its entrance gates in the southern part of the park.

According to a press release, as from 1 September, all visitors who are 18 years old and above must produce a positive identity document for scanning in order to gain access. For non-South African visitors, they must produce passports, but a South African driver’s licence will also be acceptable.

The new system will assist with the monitoring of people’s movements who enter and exit the park, and will ensure that information related to any persons entering the park is centrally recorded and monitored.

“The system will apply to everybody, including SANParks staff members, suppliers and other residents of the park, and is expected to improve on our proactive surveillance, early warning and detection. In our quest to continue to enhance security for both wildlife and visitors, we will continue to make use of appropriate security technology,” said Glenn Phillips, KNP’s managing executive.

Visitors will still be required to go through the normal check-in or check-out procedures at the gates before proceeding to the security scanning process. Training for the security personnel on the upgraded system is underway in order to minimize possible delays as soon as the new operation kicks-in. Tour operators and ground handlers are requested to communicate this requirement to their guests.

“We recognise that we have to keep a very fine balance between imposing potentially anti-tourist-friendly security measures whilst also ensuring the protection of both tourists and wildlife. We request the public to be patient during these very necessary security processes,” said Phillips.

News - Date: 17 August 2017

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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