In Conversation With Ms Teliswa Mgweba, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

The South African Forestry Company Limited (SAFCOL) — the state-owned entity responsible for managing forestry plantations on behalf of government — is reporting significant losses and threats to its operations in Mpumalanga due to escalating timber theft and illegal mining activities. SAFCOL briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation during an oversight visit to its plantations near Sabie, revealing that losses from illegal activity are costing the company millions of rand annually, with figures approaching R20 million per year.

According to SAFCOL officials, timber theft in Mpumalanga plantations is not sporadic but has developed into organised criminal activity. Armed syndicates reportedly enter plantations at night to harvest timber without permission, targeting valuable species and undermining legal supply chains. The sheer vastness of SAFCOL’s plantation footprint — stretching into Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal — makes monitoring and securing all areas extremely challenging.