Fiona Macleod Insurance tycoon and sometimes funder of the African National Congress leadership Douw Steyn is spending millions of rands on putting down roots in a private game reserve in the Northern Province. Steyn, founder of Auto & General Insurance, was friendly with the ruling party’s top leaders in the early 1990s before he moved to London, where he lived for eight years. He has already spent more than R100-million on stocking his Buffelsfontein reserve in the Waterberg with the big five. This week a breeding herd of seven elephants and a huge bull were delivered to the 10 000ha reserve from the Kruger National Park. Steyn’s new venture has ruffled some feathers in the conservation industry, with some conservationists taking umbrage at the attitude of his advisers that his huge wealth can buy him whatever takes his fancy. His application to buy elephants from the Kruger park was lodged on July 13, more than two months after tenders for the sale had closed, and was approved at the end of July. Kruger park communications manager William Mabasa says there were no irregularities in the deal. “We have a policy that, if we are approached by prospective buyers whenever we still have animals to sell, we can do so as long as the price would not be lower than the last tender we had,” he says. “I bought this farm three years ago and plan to settle here permanently,” Steyn says. “I’ve had enough of business and want to make conservation my passion.” Steyn played host to ANC leaders in the early 1990s at his huge mansion in Sandhurst, Johannesburg, where Thabo Mbeki’s 50th birthday party was held in 1992. The mansion, called Saxon, is being turned into an uppercrust hotel that opens next month. Steyn could not say what his elephant deal was worth, but the tender price for family units is at least R20E000 an elephant plus transport costs. A large bull like the one ordered by Steyn would cost about R200E000. Officials in the park say they had 800 surplus elephants to sell this year, but so far have managed to sell only 46. Steyn’s consultant in the deal, Johan Louw, says the tycoon plans to plough money into conservation research at Buffelsfontein. The elephants will be used to further research into elephant contraception by scientists at the University of Pretoria. Buffelsfontein, at 10 000ha, is slightly smaller than the minimum size of reserve stipulated by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for the relocation of a breeding herd of seven elephants, but Louw says this requirement was waived because of the planned contraception programme. Steyn also plans to add more land to the reserve soon.
The tycoon insists there will be no tourism or hunting at Buffelsfontein, which is his private sanctuary aimed at furthering the cause of conservation. “I used to be a hunter when I was younger, I have nothing against it,” he says. “But no shot will ever be fired on my farm.”