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R400m hunting, golf project for Kat River
Posted on: Thursday, 10 February 2005. Article source: The Herald
A R400-million hunting and golf estate development package is being put together to tackle poverty in the impoverished Kat River Valley area.
The Nkonkobe Economic Development Agency has placed an advertisement in The Herald calling for expressions of interest from hunting and ecotourism operators regarding a proposed new project in “the newly established Nkonkobe Game Reserve”.
Lubablwa Gwintsa, former planning department manager at the Nkonkobe municipality in Fort Beaufort, said the agency was a Section 21 company established to explore all possibilities for desperately needed development.
He is the agency’s CEO, on secondment from the municipality.
“People are very poor here and employment is way below 20 per cent. There are some jobs on farms but many of these farms have become redundant. The major employer is the Katberg Hotel, but it is cutting back on staff.
“The agency’s directive is to broaden the base of economic alternatives and we are very excited about this package,” he said.
The 1 400-hectare property, basis of the commercial hunting part of the package, was given to the municipality by the department of land affairs. It is adjacent to the Fort Fordyce provincial nature reserve and close to Mpofu and other ecotourism and hunting areas.
The Nkonkobe reserve includes indigenous valley bushveld suitable for various types of game.
The agency has presented a feasibility study to the Eastern Cape Parks Board which it hopes will become a partner in the venture, partly to help rehabilitate damaged habitat and restock the land with game.
It is said to be prime land for kudu, giraffe and black rhino. Graham Thomson, of Seaton Thomson & Associates, who carried out the feasibility study, said that rhino, a protected species, would definitely not be on offer as a trophy.
“The aim of the study was to explore the feasibility of either commercial hunting or ecotourism.
“Commercial hunting offers about a 200 per cent higher return according to our findings. Understandably, the agency went with this option.
“My understanding is they might stick with it for 10 years and then switch across to ecotourism as a more sustainable option.” With the 16-bed luxury tented camp that the agency wants to build, this kind of hunting enterprise can accrue a net profit of about R300 000 after year one and “well over a million rand by year five”, he says.
Gwintsa said about 100 jobs would be created to build the camp and roads and 60 permanent jobs would be created on the reserve.
“As one half of the package, the commercial hunting development is worth R20-30-million. We are hoping construction of a camp or hunting lodge can begin in June.”
The golf estate development is still “a long way off” and an EIA has yet to be completed. It could be worth “more than R300-million”.
The Nkonkobe Economic Development Agency has placed an advertisement in The Herald calling for expressions of interest from hunting and ecotourism operators regarding a proposed new project in “the newly established Nkonkobe Game Reserve”.
Lubablwa Gwintsa, former planning department manager at the Nkonkobe municipality in Fort Beaufort, said the agency was a Section 21 company established to explore all possibilities for desperately needed development.
He is the agency’s CEO, on secondment from the municipality.
“People are very poor here and employment is way below 20 per cent. There are some jobs on farms but many of these farms have become redundant. The major employer is the Katberg Hotel, but it is cutting back on staff.
“The agency’s directive is to broaden the base of economic alternatives and we are very excited about this package,” he said.
The 1 400-hectare property, basis of the commercial hunting part of the package, was given to the municipality by the department of land affairs. It is adjacent to the Fort Fordyce provincial nature reserve and close to Mpofu and other ecotourism and hunting areas.
The Nkonkobe reserve includes indigenous valley bushveld suitable for various types of game.
The agency has presented a feasibility study to the Eastern Cape Parks Board which it hopes will become a partner in the venture, partly to help rehabilitate damaged habitat and restock the land with game.
It is said to be prime land for kudu, giraffe and black rhino. Graham Thomson, of Seaton Thomson & Associates, who carried out the feasibility study, said that rhino, a protected species, would definitely not be on offer as a trophy.
“The aim of the study was to explore the feasibility of either commercial hunting or ecotourism.
“Commercial hunting offers about a 200 per cent higher return according to our findings. Understandably, the agency went with this option.
“My understanding is they might stick with it for 10 years and then switch across to ecotourism as a more sustainable option.” With the 16-bed luxury tented camp that the agency wants to build, this kind of hunting enterprise can accrue a net profit of about R300 000 after year one and “well over a million rand by year five”, he says.
Gwintsa said about 100 jobs would be created to build the camp and roads and 60 permanent jobs would be created on the reserve.
“As one half of the package, the commercial hunting development is worth R20-30-million. We are hoping construction of a camp or hunting lodge can begin in June.”
The golf estate development is still “a long way off” and an EIA has yet to be completed. It could be worth “more than R300-million”.
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