Project: Clearing Evasive plants from the Park

The people that live around the park are employed by the project. At times there can be 500 people clearing the park. This project started in 2003 and over 60 000 hectares has been cleared at a cost of over 50 million rand.
There has been on average a 70 present reduction of infestation since 2003.
The goal is to have a less than 2 percent density over the entire park. In
2004 a census found over 60 alien species of plants in Hluhluwe game reserve. Many of the plants were planted around homesteads and camps many years ago. The project also clears plants outside the fence as these plants also pose a threat to the park. This part of the project is funding dependent. Alien plants are a continuous threat the Hluhluwe game reserve and so the park management has to keep clearing, which often depletes the fund available and they have to keep lobbying for additional funding.

Expanded public works program

To comply with the expanded public works program there are certain criteria that has to be followed. The project must employ 60 percent females, 25 percent youth and 2 percent disabled. In order to spread the income equally only person per household can be employed by the project. Households with single parents and people that are affected and or infected by HIV and Aids get preference to any job offered by the program. In order to increase their skills while employed by the project, the contractors and the workers are sent on different courses. Any person employed by the Expanded Public Works Project can only work for 24 months in a 5 year cycle. This ensures that more people from the community can benefit from the project. Many of those that have left the project have found other jobs or started the own businesses as a result of the skills they have learnt while working for the project