By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has strongly distanced itself from Morita Forestry, condemning it as a massive fraudulent investment scheme.
The pyramid scheme scammed South Africans out of hundreds of millions of rands by falsely promising daily payouts for fake woodland projects.
On Wednesday, 29 July, influencers and victims started reporting that the scheme was “gone”; Morita had started to shut down, and withdrawals have not been processed since Friday, 24 July.
Morita was marketed by influencers across South Africa who got paid by the company. The platform had, as far as I could tell, over 385,000 registered accounts. One of the cryptocurrency wallets associated with the scheme has hundreds of millions of rands.
In a statement on Sunday, DFFE said, “It wishes to state categorically that it has no formal or official relationship with a company known as Morita Forestry, which has been implicated in media reports alleging that it operated an investment scam that has caused financial losses to many South Africans.”
“The Department distances itself from Morita Forestry and any alleged pyramid scheme or fraudulent activities associated with the company.”
The Department wishes to confirm that as the National Coordinator of the One Million Trees Programme, it participated in a tree planting event organized by the West Rand District Municipality at the Mohlakeng Township where Morita Forestry also participated.
“As part of the One Million Trees Campaign, the Department encouraged all South Africans, including businesses, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, to participate in efforts aimed at increasing tree planting across the country. Morita Forestry responded to this call and donated approximately 300 trees towards the campaign, said DFFE spokesperson Zolile Nqayi.
Nqayi said, “At no stage did the Department enter into any partnership or formal relationship with Morita Forestry. The Department was not involved in the company’s operations, investment activities or business affairs.”
The Department notes the serious allegations contained in the media reports and reiterates that its involvement with Morita Forestry was limited to the tree-planting activities undertaken as part of the One Million Trees Campaign, Nqayi added.
The Department will also consider all legally available options regarding the apparent unauthorised use of its name, programmes and officials to advance the interests of the company.
The DFFE remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of its environmental programmes and will cooperate with any lawful processes relating to this matter should such cooperation be required.
Meanwhile DFFE is investigating reports of dead and dying sardines at several locations along the Western Cape coast, from Saldanha Bay to Gansbaai.
Fish have been reported washing ashore, while dead and dying sardines have also been observed drifting at the surface as far as eight nautical miles offshore near Hout Bay. The Department has received photographs, videos and reports from fishers and members of the public.
The first fish samples were collected off Saldanha Bay on Saturday, 1 August 2026, with the assistance of the fishing vessel Shivon. The samples were received by the Department on Sunday morning, 2 August, and examination and diagnostic testing will begin on Monday, 3 August. Scientific observers have also been deployed aboard purse-seine fishing vessels to collect further information on the distribution and extent of the mortality, said DFFE.