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Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp said it will cost over R500 million to rebuild the Kruger Park after recent floods.
The cost of repairing widespread flood damage to critical infrastructure in the Kruger National Park is expected to exceed R500 million, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp has said.
“The extent of the damage in the Kruger park is extensive,” he told a media briefing in parliament on Thursday. “There have been several bridges that have been washed away, roads that have been washed away and a number of camps that have been flooded.”
Over the past two weeks, severe flooding has affected large parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, destroying homes and infrastructure and killing 38 people.
For the Kruger, initial damage estimates are already above half a billion rand, but the final figure could rise once all areas become accessible, Aucamp said.
“We could not do proper estimates because there are several areas that are still flooded and as soon as we can enter those areas, SANParks (South African National Parks) will be able to do a better estimate and we will then plan on rebuilding it,” he said.
The damage includes washed-away bridges and roads, destruction of water and electrical systems and severe impacts on staff villages and tourist accommodation.
Several major roads and camps across both the northern and southern regions of the park remain inaccessible, with the northern and southern sections still cut off from each other. Malelane, Numbi and Paul Kruger gates remain open under an entry quota system.
To support recovery efforts, Aucamp announced the establishment of the SANParks Kruger Recovery Fund, which is aimed at mobilising donations from individuals and corporate entities.
“The establishment of the Kruger Recovery Fund … will enable us to get money from donors – from a R10 donation of a student to several million rands of donations from corporate entities that are willing to help us rebuild Kruger,” he said.
He urged the public to support the initiative, noting that SANParks could not rebuild the park without external assistance. The Honorary Rangers and internationally acclaimed author Tony Park have been appointed as patrons of the fund.
“The road to recovery is very long and a lot of restoration and work is ahead of us. The Kruger National Park is not just a conservation landscape – it is an economic lifeline for the region, a symbol of our national heritage, and a globally recognised conservation asset.”
SANParks, he said, remains committed to a resilient and adaptive management approach “as we navigate these climate-related challenges”.
He called on South Africans and the international community to contribute to the recovery effort, saying SANParks was committed to ensuring strong governance and accountability in the use of donated funds.
SANParks chief executive Hapiloe Sello said the park remained in recovery mode, with widespread closures and ongoing assessments.
“We have about 18 of our camps closed; we have begun mop-up operations. There are some areas that are still covered by significant amounts of water but in the main the levels of water have gone down,” she said.
Sello said the assessment processes have begun and we should know within a few days – a week or so – the full extent of the damage. “
Despite the scale of destruction, Sello said no lives had been lost in the Kruger. “We put safety first and our staff was disaster-ready and that is why we look back at the physical destruction with sadness, but we’re very proud of the fact that there’s no loss of life and serious injuries, either of staff or of tourists.”
While no tourists remain stranded in the park, more than 500 staff members are still cut off in two camps. SANParks is delivering food parcels to them and plans to relocate staff as conditions allow.
“They are in two camps – so it’s very large groups – we don’t have people that are truly isolated and we’re happy for that,” Sello said.
She appealed for public support, highlighting the strain on park staff. “Our plea for the Kruger staff [who] have worked tirelessly for more than a week … There’s a lot of camaraderie and unity with the staff. But we need your help. We can’t do this alone, Kruger is an icon of SA.”
Aucamp said that his visit last week to the Kruger had underscored the severity of the damage. “I am still affected by the extent of the impact and devastation to our cherished national asset,” he said.
The most important highlight is that no lives were lost, Aucamp said, crediting SANParks’ early warning systems and coordinated emergency response.
He noted that between 9 January and 19 January, the park recorded 24 073 guest entries — a 41% decline compared with the same period last year — raising concerns about immediate and medium-term revenue losses.
“SANParks is an entity that generates close to 80% of its operating budget, therefore the destruction of its tourism flagship puts the sustainability of the entire network of parks at risk.”
The floods came as the park was still recovering from similar damage sustained in 2023. The minister said the combined impact of repeated flooding has exceeded existing contingency and maintenance budgets, with prolonged recovery posing risks to conservation efforts, tourism income and surrounding communities.
Kruger is increasingly becoming a “natural disaster nodal point” because of dense infrastructure, complex hydrological networks and transboundary climate influences.
Aucamp emphasised that the Kruger Recovery Fund would be administered with independent oversight through three audit firms on SANParks’ panel to ensure transparency and donor confidence.
The SANParks Kruger Recovery Fund and Honorary Rangers’ Kruger Flood 2026 Fund are the only two legitimate funds authorised to receive donations for the recovery efforts.
During crises of this nature, the risk of fraudulent fundraising schemes increases significantly, the minister said, urging the public, partners and donors – local and international – to verify information and donate only through these sanctioned channels.
“I invite each and every one of us to contribute to the Kruger Recovery Fund to save our park through the various platforms that we have established and will share on our official social media pages, in the media and through other official channels in the next couple of days,” he said.
“Our goal is to ensure that all of the necessary governance protocols are adhered so we can confidently assure donors that their monies will not be pillaged. As such, we ask that people prepare their donations so long.”
As Kruger National Park celebrates its centenary this year, it is important to work to ensure that “many generations after us will have the same pleasure and privilege to catch a pride of lions feasting on an afternoon catch at sunset, witness the sky high giraffes reaching tree heights we can only dream of, while herds of rhinos roll around in a cooling mud baths around the park”, he added.