**SayPro Minister Barbara Creecy condemns the murder of a German tourist travelling to a community-owned safari lodge in the Kruger National Park

Minister Creecy condemns killing of German Tourist en route to the Kruger National Park

The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Ms Barbara Creecy, condems the murder of a German tourist travelling to a community-owned safari lodge in the Kruger National Park via Numbi in Mpumalanga.

“I appeal to the Mpumalanga police to work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book,” said the Minister.

The group of German tourists were en route to the Mdluli community-owned safari lodge when they were held up by a group on the Numbi Road on Monday afternoon.  One member of the group of four tourists was shot and killed during the attack.

The killing of a foreign tourist to South Africa is detrimental to the country’s attempts to recover from the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.   The safari lodge, which opened its doors to the public shortly before the international travel ban to stem the spread of  the pandemic, employs 200 local community members comprising 95% of the staff complement.   These men and women are also part of a skills development programme.

“The murder of the tourist will undermine our programme to put tourism and job creation back on track as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Minister Creecy.