Game ranches join
together with
national body
At the
Annual General
Meeting of the Natal
Game Rangers
Association were
Grant Tracy, Kevin
Pretorious, Musa
Mbatha, Debbie
Cummins, Robert
Stock, Ian Goss,
Stoffel de Jager and
Boet van Rensburg
Founder
members of the NGRA
present were Ian
Goss, Kallie Kohrs
and Karel Landman
Dave
Savides
IT was an
historical moment on
Saturday when the
committee and
members of the Natal
Game Ranchers
Association (NGRA)
took the decision to
become the KwaZulu-Natal
branch of the
national body of
Wildlife Ranching
South Africa (WRSA).
The NGRA held its
AGM at the Mkuze
Cricket Club on
Saturday, attended
by over 40 people
including members of
several CCRs
(Community
Conservation
Reserves), DCOs and
members of EKZNWS.
The decision to
dissolve the NGRA
was hatched at the
Annual General
Meeting (AGM) in
2005, but the
mandate was passed
at this year’s AGM.
The driving
motivation behind
the decision is to
enable the Natal
game ranchers to be
heard on a national
level through a body
that has recognition
at a government
level.
Combining resources
with the WRSA
releases the Natal
members of some of
the financial
burdens as this
national body will
now control a lot of
administrative
functions that were
in effect being
duplicated.
The NGRA’s dissolve
was met with some
sentimentality by
some of the older
members.
Started in 1978, 28
years ago, it was
the first game
ranching association
in South Africa and
now the last of the
provinces to sign up
with WRSA.
This means that all
South African game
ranchers are now
being represented by
one body.
Natal Game Ranchers
will still have a
provincial committee
and will liaise with
WRSA who address all
national concerns on
behalf of game
ranchers around the
country.
Robert Stock, who
has been the
Chairman of the NGRA
for the past two
years, stood down
and was replaced by
Debbie Cummins, who
is the first woman
in the country to be
elected as the
Chairman of a game
ranching
association.
Boet van Rensburg
retains his post as
Vice Chairman.
Other committee
members are Ian
Goss, Grant Tracy,
Kevin Pretorious,
Musa Mbatha and
co-opted from EKZNWS,
Stoffel de Jager.
