eSwatini lost property valued at more than US$4.6 million as a result of forest fires that struck between April and July 2019, a report showed on Friday.
The report compiled by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) showed that most of the fires were the “result of illegal clearing of forests through fires by residents.”
“The losses were incurred through homes and commercial forests that were destroyed in the process,” NDMA’s Musa Mavuso said.
He said some companies that suffered the most included the eSwatini Electricity Company and eSwatini Water Services Corporation, which lost equipment.
Mavuso said NDMA would lobby parliamentarians to review the penalties for those found guilty of causing wildfires because the current fines are not deterrent enough.
NSM/jn/APA