The Mpumalanga Parks Board is desperately trying to rescue its ‘theme resort’ deal, reports Justin Arenstein
DESPITE mounting public opposition and the discovery that there are gazetted land claims on some of the key conservation areas promised to the Dubai-based Dolphin Group, the Mpumalanga Parks Board denied on Thursday that their R12,2-billion deal was in danger of collapsing.
The Dolphin Group signed an agreement with the Mpumalanga Parks Board three weeks ago granting the mega-corporation exclusive commercial development rights to Mpumalamga’s flagship game reserves and natural assets such as the Blyde River Canyon, Pilgrim’s Rest, Loskop Dam, as well as the Songimvelo and Manyeleti game reserves.
In return, Dolphin has agreed to underwrite the Mpumalanga Parks Board’s R12,2-billion operating budget for the next 50 years, while developing the reserves into ‘theme resorts’ for an international clientiele.
However, the provincial land affairs department pointed out this week that there are at least three gazetted land claims on the Blyde canyon by surrounding communities and that none of them has been consulted about the proposed transformation of the canyon into one of the province’s biggest international tourist developments.
‘Land claims are only ever gazetted if the commissioner feels there is a good chance that they will be successful. According to our records, these claims were gazetted in 1995. We will be sending a letter of notification to the Parks Board,’ said land affairs representative Conrad Spamer.
Once a claim for a specific area has been gazetted, the land may not be sold or substantially altered by development until the claim has been settled.
‘Look, we weren’t aware of any claims in the area and so didn’t tell Dolphin, but even though Blyde is one of the three corner stones of the deal we don’t think this will substantially alter anything,’ said Mpumalanga Parks Board chief executive Alan Gray.
He insisted that after the affected communities realised the economic advantages of the proposed developments ‘ which include at the least one five-star hotel, various exclusive lodges and safari operations as well as a ‘sub-economic zone’ around the Bourke’s Luck pot holes for the local tourism market ‘ the land claims would ‘fall away’.
Enviromental activists in surrounding areas sent a letter of concern to provincial enviromental MEC David Mkhwanazi this week, alleging that both they and members of the Parks Board had only learnt of the development from the media, that no adequate feasibility study has yet been conducted, that no attempt has been made to consult with the local communities and that South African companies would never have the opportunity to develop if ‘our lives are taken over buy multi-nationals like Dolphin’.
The activists, represented by Mpumalanga Enviromental Council member Shirley Ngwenya, also asked what the purpose of discussing conservation policy at grassroots was if decisions were made unilaterally by ‘a dictatorship of whoever is in power’.
Admitting that none of the communities around Blyde has yet been consulted about the deal, Gray stressed that the 16 communities around the Mpumalanga Parks Board’s biggest game reserve, Songimvelo, had already been drawn into a development forum called Songico. Similar initiatives would be launched around Blyde in the new year, Gray said.
Enviromental Council chair Dr Sue Hart said on Thursday her executive committee is extremely concerned about the manner in which the Dolphin issue has been handled: ‘We’ve been attempting to get clarity or any information, in fact, on these and other developments since July ‘ with absolutely no reply. We are supposedly the enviromental ombudsman in the province, but only managed to secure our first briefing about this huge development on December 7 ‘ 10 days after the public announcement.’
Even then, she said, the briefing had only come after urgent appeals for assistance to Premier Matthew Phosa, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Pallo Jordan and President Nelson Mandela’s office.
Dismissing Hart’s concerns by saying that the Mpumalanga Parks Board had not yet received a single direct query from the council, Gray said although he had been aware the council was querying development plans via the MEC’s office, he had not considered their concerns serious enough to respond to.
‘The Mpumalanga Parks Board is an independent statutory body and its board is therefore the only authority when making decisions to develop our assets. The board conducts the impact and other studies, but it is open for suggestions ‘ if approached directly,’ he explained.
Accusing recent mounting public criticism on a ‘small band of armchair conservationists’ who are allegedly ‘doing their damnedest’ to destroy the Dolphin deal, Gray said: ‘These people are doing their best to dig up any dirt which could destroy the deal, and frankly I’m getting sick of fighting this negativity.
‘How can people oppose a deal which will bring billions into the provincial economy, will bring jobs and development? Just what are the motives in this issue?’
Gray, however, refused to identify any of the members of the group other than to say certain Mpumalanga Parks Board members were involved, as well as a number of other conservationists outside the parks board.
Confirming he had significant shares in the Lowveld’s biggest helicopter charter company, Gray rejected allegations that as the board is the licensing body, plans for helicopter safaris down the Blyde Canyon constitute a vested interest for him.
‘It is true the parks board leases offices from local hotel owner Sean MacMurray and that MacMurray has signed deals with Dolphin for some form of joint operations, but we had nothing to do with that.
‘MacMurray accompanied us on an investment trip with other provincial businessmen and negotiated his own deals. The office rental was a favour to us way below the economic standard.’