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GOOD notes with deep concern the recent public statements made by environmentalist and long-time Kirstenbosch contributor James Deacon regarding the decline of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.

His account paints a devastating picture of institutional neglect, collapsing conservation capacity, poor financial management, procurement dysfunction, and the slow deterioration of one of South Africa’s most important environmental and heritage sites.

If these claims are true, then this is not just an administrative problem. It is a national disgrace.

The Democratic Alliance has built much of its political identity around the claim that it governs better, manages institutions more effectively, and appoints “exceptional” ministers and administrators. Yet Kirstenbosch falls directly under the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment; a “DA-led” ministry since June 2024 - first under the DA’s Dion George and now under the DA’s Willie Aucamp.

At the same time, Kirstenbosch exists within a DA-run province and a DA-run municipality. This is happening under the DA’s watch at every sphere of government relevant to the garden.

So, the question must be asked: where is the exceptionalism South Africans were promised?

According to Deacon’s account, plant collections built over decades are disappearing. 

Protea and Erica collections have dramatically declined. One species reportedly went from extinct in the wild to entirely extinct due to institutional neglect. Experienced botanists and specialists have left because procurement systems and internal management made it impossible to do their jobs effectively.

This is not what competent governance looks like.

Financial mismanagement is not abstract. It has real consequences. When conservation institutions cannot procure basic materials, retain expertise, or maintain collections, biodiversity suffers. Heritage suffers. Science suffers.

Kirstenbosch is not simply a tourist attraction. It is a living archive of South Africa’s biodiversity and ecological identity. The king protea is our national flower. The Cape Floral Kingdom is globally significant. Institutions tasked with protecting that heritage should be strengthened, not hollowed out.

The DA cannot continue presenting itself as the party of clean governance and administrative excellence while critical institutions under its leadership deteriorate in plain sight.

GOOD calls for:

• An urgent public explanation from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

• Full transparency regarding SANBI’s financial and procurement challenges.

• A clear recovery plan for Kirstenbosch and its conservation programmes.

• Immediate intervention to restore scientific and horticultural capacity at the garden.

• Parliamentary oversight into the state of South Africa’s national botanical institutions.

South Africans should not accept the slow collapse of institutions that belong to future generations.

Kirstenbosch does not belong to politicians or bureaucrats. It belongs to the people of South Africa, and we have a responsibility to protect it before irreversible damage is done.

issued by Matthew Cook the national chairperson of GOOD