Communities near state forests are upset about not being consulted about proposed sales
Fiona Macleod
The government’s multimillion-rand sale of commercial state forests could literally go up in flames if the rights of the rural communities who own the land where the forests are growing continue to be ignored.
Critics say threats of the forests being torched are real as the government undertakes what is probably the largest and speediest state forest restructuring process in the world.
The pressure is on the government to get rid of the forests, many of which fall within the former homelands, because they have been badly managed and are estimated to cost the state in the region of R1- million a day.
But in the rush to get rid of this millstone, critics say, the rights and interests of communities claiming the land are being ignored – with potentially disastrous consequences.
“Once the sale takes place, there will be a social and political uproar. This could end up destroying a viable industry and could even result in the wholesale destruction of the plantations through fire,” says a “concerned civil servant from the Transkei region” in an anonymous letter sent to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and various newspapers.
Though the department this week dismissed the claims of the anonymous source, independent researchers say local communities are being alienated and the risk of arson – the greatest threat in the forestry industry – is real.
The civil servant raised concerns about the sale of forests in the East Griqualand area around Kokstad. Called the Eastern Cape North package, it is the most advanced of the seven forestry deals involving a total of 330E000ha put out to tender.
The department has identified a preferred bidder in a deal that would see at least R16-million change hands for a long-term lease on 58E000ha of forestry in the former Transkei and adjacent areas in South Africa and for use of the Weza sawmill.
Preferred bidders have been identified in three other areas, while the department is reconsidering the remaining three packages. The department was hoping to raise more than R1-billion for all seven packages when it started the bidding process last year, but the international companies that originally showed an interest have since pulled out.
The preferred bidder for the Eastern Cape North package, Singisi Forest Products, is a consortium that is 51% owned by Hans Merensky Holdings and 49% by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, a parastatal set up by the Eastern Cape provincial government.
Concerns have been raised about how much East Griqualand locals know about the deal, particularly as the bidding process has involved the signing of lengthy confidentiality clauses, and how much they will benefit from it.
“I can’t think of any instances where local communities have been consulted about the deal,” says Jeremy Evans, a project leader at the CSIR, who has conducted extensive research into the privatisation of state forests over the past few years. “The department has discussed the implications with the workers on the plantations, so they know about it – but not the broader communities.”
Evans has produced several reports on the rights claimed by communities who were stripped of their land during the creation of the homelands. Many of them have launched land claims on state forests, while others believe they own the land even though they haven’t formally laid claim to it.
He points out that many communities will not settle for just the rentals the department has guaranteed them while the land claims are being sorted out, and access to certain forest products. They want to be part of managing the land and decision-taking.
“The privatisation of state plantation management is taking place at a time when forest-adjacent communities are becoming better aware of the rights they can and should enjoy as acknowledged landowners,” Evans says.
One of the conditions of the bid is that 10% of the shares has to be owned by a black empowerment company. Vince Erasmus, general manager of Singisi, says the consortium has decided to offer this 10% to local communities rather than to a company with no roots in East Griqualand.
“We have visited every tribal authority in the area and engaged extensively with local communities, but it’s difficult to sell something you don’t have yet,” Erasmus says.
While the department is coming under pressure from Singisi to finalise the deal, others say it should slow down and place more value on process to avoid problems in the future.
“It’s pushing the deal too fast and not consulting enough,” says Jeanette Clark, an associate of the school of government at the University of the Western Cape’s programme for land and agragrian studies. “There’s a lot more room for discussion on breaking up the forestry packages and offering them to the smaller people.”
Lael Bethlehem, chief director of forestry in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, says the final sale negotiations with Singisi are “close to completion. I don’t think anyone should be feeling alienated.
“At the same time, when resources become available [in the form of shares] this often leads to tension, which needs to be managed correctly.”