News24 | Cape Town baboons: Joint task team considers solutions as ranger contract comes to an end

• The City of Cape Town's contract with a service provider for baboon rangers ends in December. 
• The City is now exploring new partnerships for future baboon management.  
• The Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation has raised concerns about the possible loss of experienced rangers.

The City of Cape Town's contract with a service provider for the Urban Baboon Programme ends in December.

Now, a joint task team is looking at how to manage the baboons going forward.

Representatives of SA National Parks, CapeNature and the City formed the Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team and met with affected communities in June.

These meetings were to talk about the Cape Peninsula Baboon Strategic Management Plan (CPBSMP), its implementation, and the development of area-based solutions in cooperation with the individual communities.

The task team said it was considering a grant-in-aid with a non-profit organisation or the creation of a special purpose vehicle, as part of a longer term solution.

The City did not provide clarity when asked how many rangers would be affected and whether it planned to get new rangers.

"The termination of employment is a matter between the employer, NCC Environmental Services, and its employees," it said.

Enquiries to NCC Environmental Services, the consultancy that was appointed as the City's service provider for the programme in October 2020, remained unanswered.

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"The options have been reviewed, and supply-chain processes are being initiated to maintain the presence of baboon rangers in affected communities in the coming months," said the City.

According to the City, a short-term solution will be implemented in December, as the current programme winds down, and an interim solution will cover the transition period, starting 1 January 2025.

The City said that, in July last year, it signed a Memorandum of Agreement with South African National Parks (SANParks) and CapeNature to establish a foundation for cooperation in developing a more sustainable management plan for the Cape Peninsula's Chacma baboon population. 

If all goes as planned, the Cape Peninsula Baboon Advisory Group will be formally established this month.

The advisory group members will represent their respective communities, academic and research institutions, and organisations from the Cape Peninsula with a direct interest in baboon management.

The group will advise the task team on achieving the outcomes in the CPBSMP, support its implementation on a local area level, ensure ongoing and constructive engagement between the task team and constituencies, and help develop strategic partnerships with stakeholders.

Lynda Silk, the chairperson of the Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation (CPCC), raised concerns about the livelihoods of the baboon rangers currently employed.

She said they should be valued and listened to, regarding their understanding about baboons and baboon management.

She added that these rangers could assist with helping to refine solutions.

Silk said the total number of affected staff was 82, mostly ground rangers, but the effect would also include the families they supported.

Silk said discussions about baboons in the Cape Peninsula often focused on the wealthier, majority white communities living in baboon-footfall areas and their complaints. Only, occasionally, the focus was on the baboons themselves, she noted.

She said: 

Silk said all staff were given redundancy notices last week, and now they were anxiously waiting to see what the joint task team had planned for baboon management.

She said rangers were hoping that moving forward, the plans would value and include their skills and experience.

"As men in uniform, walking all day carrying a heavy pack and a paintball gun, baboon rangers are easily dehumanised by many who see them," she said.

She said baboon rangers often end up becoming nameless, faceless beings, who are treated with criticism and rudeness by locals.

She said the rangers and their dependents would be most affected by the job losses.

"The estimated 400 people affected include dependents, as most rangers support up to six or seven people.

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"We know from some rangers, whose contracts have already ended, that their livelihoods before the baboon management programme were as ad hoc labourers in construction or wherever else they could find a few days' income, sometimes crisscrossing the country to find work and returning to more piecemeal jobs," Silk said.

She said the baboon management programme offered a reliable monthly income to many.

"It is a painful reality that, in our country, black men are still largely seen as an interchangeable and disposable labour force," she said.

Silk emphasised that many faced a challenging future if their ranger employment was not maintained.