South Africa
International
Government of SA is grabbing back all the land from white land owners without any compensation. Will be interesting to see what it does to the hunting.
do you have any articles on this?
https://t.co/wP0ZkOIbCE Can't get it to copy try this
I would not be concerned as this smoke and mirrors show has been going on for 18 years now.
Happened in Zimbabwe. Net result is the entire country has been starving ever since. Except for the few fat cats at the top, who throw million dollar birthday parties.
Ken, according to the outfitter I went with, there should be concern. White farmers getting murdered and occupiers not able to farm effectively. And a movement against professional hunting. There should always be concern, esp. when guards are let down.
White farmers started getting murdered in 1994 when the ANC came to power. It is not a current phenomenon but It has not curtailed. There are also no “occupiers” on land that was not previously paid for and reallocated. There is also no movement against professional hunting other than the usual anti hunting movement nonsense. SA has been going thru this land reallocation since 2000 when I owned property there. I would not advise propagating hype about something that is nothing new in SA. Zimbabwe went thru total land confiscation and hunting continued unhindered. Now, whites are being welcomed back to their old farms with open arms so that they can get the farms back on track. Hunting will not be affected in SA. It’s too lucrative and tourism is a major contributor to the SA economy.
Any new information on the drought and the water issues they’re having in the Capetown region, Ken? I know that a lot of people tie a sightseeing trip in to that area, at the beginning or at the tail end of their safari. Any potential problems with that situation?
At least there’s no Ebola scare going on....yet!
Water shortage still on going in Cape Town. Supply will diminish by this July if not rectified.
Ken, good to hear that from another perspective, thanks.
Ken,
I believe Kobus Mouton of Tshepe last his cattle ranch/hunting land to the “government”. Any idea what he’s doing now?
Not a clue. He’s been out of hunting for a few years now.
Ken, Is there a part of the Country that they are mostly going after, or is it just random?
If this occurs they will concentrate on productive farm lands with agricultural benefit just as they did in Zimbabwe. Of course the farms will fail as they can barely start a tractor let alone run a farm. What they most likely will do is seize the farm and appoint the previous owner as manager so that production will not be hindered. It’s all about perception. They’ve done this in townships where they simply created a position above the one doing the actual job so that a black person appears to be running things.
I believe Melorani was forced to leave their land and start over.
That is correct. Stewart lost his battle and lost Melorani. He is leaving the hunting business I do believe. We actually have the Melorani property available for hunting this year as many of you recognized the lodging posted at our website and have asked me about it. This is to help Stewart take as much game off as possible before the land changes hands.
Land claim which was honored.
Very sad news. I had the opportunity to hunt with Stwart and Kobus years ago. Both great persons
"proceedings in and informal way" OH Lord
"Zimbabwe went thru total land confiscation and hunting continued unhindered"
I would not agree with that statement at all.
I hunted with Stewart just before this happened. At the time he felt he had a good claim to keep his land as he could prove his family had owned it since the early 1900s. A year later he sent me a note that he was going to lose the property, very sad. His elderly mother still live there with him and it had to be hard on her.
..."proceedings in an informal way" caught my eye too. I hope this is not going to go the way it sounds like. It's hitting the major news outlets.
I hunted tuskless ele in Zim in 2007. I had a great hunt but the country wasn't in good shape. My PH had lost his family farm of multiple generations. It was very sad and over 100 locals had lost their incomes from that farm. It's a wreck today.
I received an email today from DSC regarding the RSA land situation. The email contained a copy of statement from the PHASA. Thought it might be of interest to this thread. Below are the contents of the PHASA statement:
PHASA STATEMENT “Expropriation of Land in South Africa”
Concerns have been raised by our members and the broader international hunting community regarding the issue of “land expropriation without compensation” in South Africa. The Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) wishes to clarify this issue. PHASA would like to assure the public that although talks of “expropriation without compensation” is a concern, there are numerous constitutional procedures and implementation requirements that first need to be addressed prior to this policy coming to fruition. South Africa has one of the best constitutions in the world and the bill that was passed in parliament, will first have to be investigated and go through a constitutional review committee process. The committee will have to hold public hearings, where South Africans can give suggestions and inputs. Once completed the committee will report back to the National Assembly where their findings will then, once more be voted for in parliament. A two-thirds majority vote is required for the committee’s recommendations to be accepted. The President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa has urged people not to panic and outlined the critical importance for South Africans to engage to come up with meaningful proposals and recommendations concerning the land issue. It is paramount for the broader community to realise that specific constraint were put in place that this process may not undermine the: 1. Economy, 2. Agricultural production and 3. Food security. PHASA will heed the Presidents request and be involved in finding amicable solutions for the wildlife and hunting industries by highlighting the invaluable contribution hunting makes to the green economy. Members of the PHASA Executive Committee were in Parliament on the same day as the land decision was made. PHASA was involved in finding ways of unlocking the socio-economic potential of South Africa’s biodiversity assets through sustainable use of wildlife resources. According to the President of South Africa, land expropriation would not be a “smash and grab” attempt, and much consultation would take place to ensure the process would not harm food production, jobs and the economy as a whole. South Africa remains one of the best destinations of choice for international tourists and as an Association we would like to assure the general public that South Africa remains a safe and preferred destination for hunters. - END - For any further information individuals or Associations are welcome to contact the president, our PHASA office or any member of EXCO. Dries van Coller, PHASA president, [email protected] or Marianna Louwrens at [email protected] and Tersia Du Plooy at [email protected]
After reading the statement issued by PHASA I ponder the following questions:
1. Is this statement released truthful about resolving the protested issues the black Africans have in a peaceful, sensible manner or is the PHASA statement simply "damage control" for the continuation of booking hunts in South Africa?
2. Who enforces the constitution of South Africa?
What say you?
I saw the presidents speech. He said exactly what they said he did. He said it would happen. But happen properly, and no smash and grab.
I am glad I am going this summer. The constitutional review committee has until Aug 30 to report back to parliament.
Here is the latest from SCI on matters in RSA.
It's a threat to one of my clients who has some farms. They told me last spring the land that has been re-distributed on other farms is often managed poorly after the new people take it over. Real sad.
Keep in mind that the government of RSA are incompetent, corrupt racist Communists. Sorta like Obama but without the Ivy League degree. Their national airline, SAA ,is going bankrupt and the land grab is a convenient smokescreen for their incompetence and corruption.
Sure seems like things are getting serious.
