The Mnisi community has plans to uplift the near-ruined Manyeleti game park
Fiona Macleod
A land claim will soon be gazetted on Manyeleti game reserve, raising hopes that the tarnished crown jewel of Limpopo’s provincial parks will be restored to its former glory.
Conservationists say resolution of the land claim will be the salvation of Manyeleti, which is being bulldozed by construction companies and ransacked by poaching syndicates. Its tourism facilities are in a state of dire neglect and the main tourism camp is closed to visitors.
Manyeleti is a “big five” reserve in relatively untouched bush on the western border of the Kruger National Park. It shares boundaries with two wealthy, privately owned game reserves that form part of the greater Kruger area.
The 35 000ha reserve is being claimed by the Mnisi community, living on communal lands outside Manyeleti. The Mnisis have evidence that Manyeleti which means “Place of the Stars” was occupied by their forefathers in the 19th century. Early in the 20th century they were removed from the land, and in 1966 the Gazankulu homeland government proclaimed Manyeleti a game reserve for the use of blacks.
A restitution claim launched by the Mnisi Tribal Authority was rejected by the provincial land claims commission in 1997, on the basis that the tribal authority could not legally lodge the claim on behalf of the community. A claim by the community was subsequently lodged.
A representative for the Limpopo province regional land commission, Moses Rannditsheni, says the Mnisis have “a strong case. They have historical evidence of having stayed in Manyeleti and don’t have a strong competitor in this respect.”
Rannditsheni says two other communities lodged claims on the reserve, but neither has produced evidence of having stayed there. The Sethlare community argues it had grazing rights in the area, which “complicates the case”.
The commission is not prepared to say when the Mnisi claim will be gazetted, but members of the community who attended an inspection of the reserve with the commission last month are optimistic it will be gazetted as soon as April. Gazetting gives notice to other interested parties to comment on the claim before it goes to the land claims court.
In anticipation of a successful claim, the Mnisis have set up the Andover/Manyeleti Community Development Trust, which aims to keep the reserve as a conservation and tourism venue.
“Community ownership of Manyeleti, together with effective commercial and environmental management in which the aspirations of the community is addressed, will create a stable investment climate for potential investors in Manyeleti. The reserve has the potential to become a role model for similar community projects where a community as a whole stands to benefit and not only a few selected parties,” says the trust management proposal submitted to the land commission.
Three successful privately run tourism camps managed by concession holders will continue to be leased out. The main rest camp, presently operated by the Limpopo Department of Finance, Economics and Environmental Affairs, will be renovated and leased to a private concessionaire.
“The government-managed, 64-bed main camp is in a sad state of disrepair and cannot accept visitors. The facilities, such as restaurant, garage, bottle store, shops, administration centre, museum and reptile park are simply non-functional. Some of the management offices are used as chicken coops,” says Neil Harmse, identified by the trust as a possible future warden of the reserve. Harmse is a former director of the Wilderness Leadership School.
In addition to the lease concession fees, the trust plans to raise money by charging game operators traversing fees, through bed levies and entrance fees. It has identified six separate communities that will benefit through jobs, educational and medical materials, water supply, sports facilities and agricultural assistance.
“It appears as if the only way to save these valuable pockets of conservation areas is to hand them over to the private sector for development and marketing,” says Harmse. “The communities under the Andover/Manyeleti Community Development Trust have submitted workable commercial and environmental management plans, and are totally committed to retaining the status and integrity of the reserve.”
Harmse says the Limpopo provincial government, which has been managing the reserve since 1994, simply does not have resources or expertise to save Manyeleti from ruin.
During a recent inspection of the reserve he undertook with community members, 49 snares made out of cables were removed from just 200m. “There are rows of cable snares near the road, indicating large-scale commercial poaching is on the increase. The government-appointed rangers have been implicated in the poaching.” Lions, hyenas, buck many animals that have made their way to Manyeleti from the Kruger park are being killed in these snares.
Bakkie-loads of plants and wood are also being removed from the reserve. Private construction companies contracted by the government to undertake flood repairs are bulldozing pristine bush and gouging huge gravel pits throughout the reserve.
“With no prior environmental impact assessment, they simply bulldozed roads 20m wide into areas where such roads are totally unnecessary. Environmental damage caused by these actions will take many years to rehabilitate,” says Harmse.
Attempts by the Mail & Guardian to talk to the contractors and Limpopo authorities were unsuccessful. Rannditsheni says until the Mnisis’ claim is gazetted, the land commission is powerless to stop such abuses and suggests the communities obtain a court interdict to prevent further devaluation of their future asset.
ENDS