Maravi

(SUNDAYMAIL ZW) Inside Save Conservancy

COMMENT - He's lying. First, a similar property advertised on Wildnet in the 1990s was offered for $23,- per hectare, not $100,-. Secondly, at $100 for 24,000 hectares, that's $2.4 million. How did he get that much money to spend on a wildlife reserve? Now he says he bought 24,000 hectares at $100/hectare ($2.4 million) from a $1 million loan from the World Bank? By the way, ordinary Zimbabweans should be so lucky to get a 10 year business loan at 2.5% interest.

Inside Save Conservancy
Saturday, 22 September 2012 20:21
Emilia Zindi

Mr Clive Stockhill expresses displeasure at sharing his 24 000 hectares of land with indigenous people as he feels his wildlife will be under threat.

Driving into the now controver­tial Save Valley Conservancy one quickly gets to understand the emo­tions and defiant attitude that have sur­rounded its indiginisation to accom­modate black players.

This “paradise on earth’’ is situated in the South Eastern Lowveld and covers approximately 845 044 acres (342 123 square kilometres) shared by a group of 16 white former cattle ranchers.

It is bigger than Belgium which is only 30 530 square kilometres but is shared by 11 million people.

And Save is indeed a rich man’s retreat. Driving through the area one gets occasional appearances of the enormous jungle leaders among them kudu, giraffe, rhino, ele­phant, impala, lion, warthog and wildebeest.

You hardly travel a kilometre with­out seeing these beasts, making the con­servancy one of the best tourist cen­tres in the country.

Nearly every ranch has one or two upmarket lodges, some of which have airstrips, which are currently in use, allowing the various visitors from all over the world to come into the coun­try hassle-free and privately.

Workers at Senuko Ranch, which has one of the airstrips, told The Sun­day Mail last week that small planes came in and left quite often.
“In fact, there was one this morning. Most guests here come in private planes for hunting,’’ remarked one of the work­ers.

Senuko is owned by Mr Clive Stockhill and measures 24 000 hectares.

Other properties belonging to his business associates measure between 24 000 and 35 000 hectares each.

The impression you get as you drive through the conservancy is that no human inhabitants would be found there because of the free move­ment of different wildlife along the main dusty road that stretches across the conser­vancy.

The workers claim the animals are shot as and when the owners decide, at times just for making biltong.

The plush homes of the conser­vancy owners and their families are tucked inside thick bushes and can hardly be located except for those who know the area well.

Entrance into the conservancy is strictly monitored and only those cleared by the “bosses’’ are allowed in.

This is the sweet cake that some black empowerment groups now want a piece of.

But Mr Stockhill, the former chair­man of the conservancy, is adamant that the parcelling out of this land will never happen.

Speaking to The Sunday Mail at his residence, located on top of a hill in the middle of a forest, ­ Mr Stockhill had no kind words for those eying his lucrative venture.

“First I must say if people think this is an area where they can make quick money, they are joking. It is not easy. We had to forego a lot of things as cat­tle ranchers to come up with this con­servancy.

“So, it was created as a business ven­ture where we invited an inde­pendent consultant to carry out a sur­vey as to how we should go about it,’’ he said.

He said there would be no indige­nising of the conservancies and the owners did not even understand the scope of that whole programme.

“We are still trying to understand what this is all about. All what I need is for you to understand how the Save Conservancy came to be what it is today.

“I am a Zimbabwean and I will die here. I do not see myself leaving this place because I have seen two land reforms under different governments, first from the Rhodesian government and then the black government and now you want me to witness yet another reform, what for?’’ he said.

He narrated that he was born 40 kilometres from Mkwasine Estate in the Lowveld where his parents owned Essaby Ranch. They moved there way back in 1940.

He grew up on the ranch until he bought his property measuring 24 000 hectares which is now part of the Save Conservancy.

“I bought this from a deceased’s estate at US$100 per hectare. I am a third-genera­tion Zimbabwean and I remain com­mitted to finding solu­tions to the prob­lems that exist here,” he said.

Mr Stockhill therefore warned those trying to parcel out the conser­vancy to first understand how it was formed.

The area, he said, was initially for cattle ranchers in the 1920s after which the ranchers released their cat­tle because they were not able to sus­tain the ranching programme.

In 1992, drought saw hun­dreds of their cattle dying, prompting them to think of new means of survival.

“We looked at what to do. This was a hardcore business and instead of us doing it ourselves, we invited an inde­pendent consultant who carried out a survey looking at options.’’

He said finally the ranchers chose wildlife as their next venture. They then came together and formed the Save Valley Conservancy.

To get the business off the ground, they borrowed money from the Interna­tional Finance Corporation which is a branch of the World Bank.

“We borrowed US$1 million through the World Bank’s office in Canada and the loan was payable over 10 years at two-and-a-half percent per annum with an endorsement from the Government of Zimbabwe through Cde Simon Khaya Moyo who was then the Minister of Tourism,’’ he said.

“We started with zero quotas until we finished paying back the loan in 2007 with hunting revenue still not enough to cover costs of wildlife. There is a per­ception that there is money in this busi­ness, which is wrong. We need inde­pendent audi­tors to give the correct pic­ture,’’ he said.

He said major costs included wages as well as electricity bills.
Mr Stockhill said his property alone was not big enough to be shared with anyone.

“The smaller the unit, the less eco­logically viable it becomes. The ques­tion that still haunts us is how we share benefits.

“The best way to do so is we would like to understand more of the com­munity trusts that are being set up. We are keen to understand some of these structures,’’ he said.

He said there had not been much activity on the conservancy following the recent suspension of the hunting quotas by Government.
Prior to the suspension, hunters would come from as far as the United States, Canada and Europe.

However, some indigenous Zimbabweans believe that Mr Stockhill and his associates are holding on to resources that in all fairness cannot belong to them alone.

“How can a group of people claim ownership of such vast amounts of land and wildlife in a country with so many indiginous people?’’ remarked one of businesspeople in the area.

But some in Government have sided with the conservancy owners claiming that indiginising the area would impact badly on the country’s tourism, mostly the co-hosting of the 2013 UN World Tourism Organisation General Assem­bly to be jointly hosted with Zambia.

These sentiments saw the Zanu-PF Politburo recently set up a technical committee to investigate the matter and make rec­ommendations.

Controversy surrounding the con­servancy emerged after the black bene­ficiaries of the lucrative business who were issued with 25-year leases included sen­ior Zanu-PF officials.

This raised questions as to whether the process was indeed in line with Government’s policy on indigenisa­tion.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said in an interview last week that the Politburo would want the con­servancy turned into a national park.

“The Politburo resolved that the tech­nical committee will meet soon to dis­cuss issues around Save Conser­vancy. It will provide us with the way forward, but the thinking is to convert the con­servancy into a national park.

“If that succeeds, then it means those leases issued recently would fall away,’’ Cde Gumbo was quoted as say­ing.

However, most people in the area believe black players should benefit from wildlife in the area.

“While we agree that the issuance of the 25-year leases could have been done in a wrong manner, the concept is good.

“What is needed is to do the right thing in redistributing this sector just as was the case under the land reform programme. No sector is sacred in the name of protecting tourism or threatening the hosting of the WTO General Assem­bly,’’ said war veteran Cde Robert Majiga.

" He grew up on the ranch until he bought his property measuring 24 000 hectares which is now part of the Save Conservancy. “I bought this from a deceased’s estate at US$100 per hectare. "

Labels: LAND REFORM, RHODESIANS, WILDLIFE

posted by MrK @ 3:37 AM