Bulelani Ngcuka’s Amabubesi Investments company has acquired a majority stake in a lucrative golf and luxury residential estate industry near George — in a development headed by a former Special Forces operator and employing as conservation consultant Colonel Jan Breytenbach, the recce who founded 32 Battalion.
The scramble for a berth among the greens of the southern Cape has made for strange bedÂÂfellows: ambassador-turned-businessman Franklin Sonn and cleric Allan Boesak have combined forces over the Lagoon Bay Lifestyle Estate. Judge Essa Moosa has requested permission from the justice minister to serve on the Lagoon Bay community trust, a justice official has confirmed.
Amabubesi, led by former prosecutions chief Ngcuka, has secured a 51% stake in The Lakes Eco & Golf Reserve. This Lakes, as it is dubbed, and Lagoon Bay centre on two separate farms named Hoogekraal.
The Lakes is spearheaded by Steyn Fourie, whose service in the apartheid-era special forces was verified by reliable sources. Asked for comment, Fourie said: ”I did my national military service as part of the infantry in the [South African Defence Force].” He refused to be drawn further.
Fourie defended the proposed development and the black economic empowerment partnership with Amabubesi: ”I’m trying to make a useful difference in the new South Africa.”
He said The Lakes aimed to create 700 jobs, a staff accommodation village and a business college. A percentage of the sales of almost 1 000 units would go towards a community trust. It plans to eradicate thousands of alien tree species in a bid to rehabilitate the Swartvlei nature area.
Amabubesi executive director and former National Prosecutions Authority spokesperson Sipho Ngwema said the company had been attracted by George’s socio-economic needs, including a 60% unemployment rate.
For the past year claims and counterclaims have been traded in public media, such as the George Herald, over the merits of The Lakes project. Opponents say the aim is to create a playground for the rich, and claim that developers hand-pick community representatives to lobby for support on a promise of jobs that cannot be fulfilled.
Golf estates are favourably viewed by the local council as ”a buffer against urban sprawl” and ”a visually pleasing transitional zone between the built-up town and the countryside”, according to the George Spatial Development Framework. In contrast, the town’s budget provides for about 950 low-cost houses in just two areas.
Since 1994 Fourie has become a successful developer, with a track record in low-cost housing and, more recently, an upmarket property portfolio. In late 2003 he was behind the refurbishment of the Protea Hotel Wilderness.
The deal between Ngcuka and Fourie was signed in April. A key factor is reportedly that the land is already owned by the developer. It was acquired from a bankrupt forestry enterprise.
Said to be South Africa’s most decorated soldier, Breytenbach has a long-standing interest in conservation, the subject of two books he has written. One,The Plunderers, was nominated for the 2002 Sunday Times Literary Award. Breytenbach said he had become involved in The Lakes through one of his ”old mates”, a fellow conservationist related to Fourie.
A total of 33 golf estate applications are pending in the Western Cape. According to the provincial environmental affairs and tourism minister, Tasneem Essop, the aim is to balance development with socio-economic and environmental impacts. ”If there is unscrupulous behaviour, it must be brought to our attention for investi-gation,” she said.