Mercedes Sayagues
Looking for Mr Right: lovely bride, nearly a virgin, with notable dowry of 236 000ha of choice ocean property stretching from Maputo to KwaZulu-Natal. Caveat: freehold title does not exist in Mozambique, but dowry is guaranteed by a 50-year renewable concession from the government. Requisites: candidate must have capital to develop dowry. African experience a definite plus.
Has the estate of James Ulysses Blanchard III found the ideal suitor, or co-investor, for its vast domain?
Reliable sources inform the Mail & Guardian that South African magnate Anton Rupert may be considering a partnership with Blanchard Sodetur, the designated foreign investor for the concession. A well-known conservationist in the United States would also come into the deal.
Howard Geach, CEOof Blanchard Sodetur, would neither confirm nor deny that it was Rupert, but said he was engaged in continual talks with South African and US-based investors, with the blessing of the Mozambican government.
“We are working around the clock, here, in the US and in Mozambique, trying to find a way to accommodate all mutually compatible interests,” said Geach.
However, Johann Rupert, who runs the Rupert family empire, said they were approached late last year by Blanchard staff looking for partners. The discussion did not go far, however. He was not aware of any recent discussions with the Blanchard estate, but said members of the conservation industry have been lobbying Rupert about it.
“I would not be adverse to investing in Mozambique. But we know very little about the Blanchard project. It would be of interest if we knew more. It’s the kind of project we as South Africans ought to look at. It would create jobs. If we want to cure unemployment in South Africa, we need to do things like this in neighbouring states.”
Anton Rupert (82) is the tobacco magnate who headed the Rembrandt Group, but his huge contributions to conservation are less well known.
He is president of the World Wide Fund for Nature-South Africa, and founder and chair of the Peace Parks Foundation, which wants to set up cross-border conservation areas in Southern Africa.
Blanchard’s domain links parks in KwaZulu- Natal with the Maputo Elephant Reserve through the ancient elephant corridor along the Futi River. It could also link with the Limbombo spatial initiative along Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa.
The Peace Parks Foundation has just channelled an initial donation of $50 000 from the US-based Wild Foundation to help communities in the Maputo Elephant Reserve exploit eucalyptus, firewood and medicinal plants for commercial and domestic use.
Since the concession was granted in 1996 and until his death last March, Blanchard invested about $5-million in the project, said Geach. Little of that can be seen on the ground: several studies and a glossy brochure, three dozen kudu and waterbuck in the Maputo Elephant Reserve, and 26km of electrified fence that has angered local communities.
No sale either of the land or the concession can be expected, since the state owns all land in Mozambique. But the concession authorises Blanchard Sodetur to bring in co- investors. So now it is wooing suitors.
The co-investors could buy shares in Blanchard Sodetur, enough for it to discount the investment and make a profit, in exchange for the rights to develop one or several parts of the domain.
Many environmental activists welcome, in principle, the idea of bringing in investors familiar with African ways.
It is rumoured in wildlife circles that what Rupert really wants is the hunting concession known as Coutada 16 by the Limpopo River near the South African border, held by the Mozambican government.
Abundant in big cats, antelope and buffalo, it is the best in southern Mozambique.
Currently exploited by Gaza Safaris on concession from the government, it may soon change its status to a reserve with several operators.
But one could settle for any of the enchanting spots on Inhaca Island, Santa Maria Machangulo or the Maputo Elephant Reserve within Blanchard’s vast concession. Will wedding bells ring soon?