Multi-millionaire dreams of turning Namibia into a game park

BRIGITTE WEIDLICH
MILLIONAIRE Gert Joubert, who is the owner of a 65 000-hectare game lodge near Omaruru, is still on a mission to turn the whole of Namibia into a vast game park where animals can roam freely and the only fences are around towns and villages.

Joubert reckons that "two or three million tourists" would come to Namibia each year, at a rate of 1 000 per day, to enjoy the vast open spaces.

"I can see in the future a Namibia with no internal fences except around the cities and villages where the game, like in the Serengeti, can migrate freely from the North ... right down south to the Orange River.

Millions of game migrating freely over our country with the cities and villages becoming super rest camps," Joubert told a press conference in Windhoek yesterday.

"Five minutes out of Windhoek, it should be possible for a foreign tourist to see a lion kill, or predators catching a zebra and on the big north-south highway Namibians and foreign tourists will daily experience the fantastic African wildlife opera or play of nature taking its course," the millionaire illustrated his dream.

He would need investment partners to raise the necessary N$10 billion over the next 15 years to turn his own Erindi Game Lodge into such a place as a first stepping stone, Joubert said, but banks were not keen to finance tourism development on a farm.

"Banks are afraid another Zimbabwe might happen in Namibia with regard to land reform.

Foreign investors are also not keen to invest in development initiatives on farmland.

I would only raise a measly N$20 million through loans," Joubert lamented.

In his view, the present system of land reform was "a failure" since all commercial farms had to be offered to the Government first and could not be bought and sold like houses.

Foreigners did not want to invest if they could not sell the land in which they had invested for the highest price possible, Joubert added.

Should all the land of a nation belong to the government, or if laws and regulations hindered free trade in land, the real monetary value of the land could not be unlocked by selling it or bonding it at the bank for money, he said.

Consequently, the largest amount of capital available and necessary for a country's prosperity was locked away in untradable land, or "frozen", as the millionaire called it.

If one took all the commercial farms in Namibia, about 5 000 farms at 5 000 hectares each at a price of N$500 per hectare, their value was only N$12,5 billion.

"If ownership of this land could trade freely without land reform or any hindrance towards any willing seller and any willing buyer from anywhere, the same land should sell at a minimum of N$2 000 per hectare, that equals N$50 billion.

A farm of 5 000 hectares should fetch N$10 million and not N$2,5 million," said Joubert, who is also a property developer in South Africa.

"N$37,5 billion lies locked in the commercial areas, money that cannot be utilised by the owners for economic development by unlocking the capital, by selling or bonding the land and investing the proceeds in farming or other economic investments."

Joubert said he would try and convince Government during scheduled meetings today and Friday to unlock the "enormous potential" of farmland for what he calls eco-tourism to bring in "a couple of million tourists to Namibia from abroad."

Joubert confirmed a rumour that he had received an offer from a Russian businessman who wanted to buy Erindi for N$100 million.

"That is too low, Erindi is not for sale but it surely is worth N$500 million," he stated.

Wow. Just picture it, Namibia nothing more than a huge eco-tourism park where all of the greenies, tree huggers and antis can go and be one. Fence in the humans. . . .A huge human zoo, where humans can go from town to town for rest and protection. This silly-assed idea almost hearkens back to the story we read not long ago in the news about introducing lions, elephants, etc. to the great plains in the U.S. Would you have to have your own key to the gate or a pass to get out? What insane idea will be next?

A typically Green ideal: put people in cages, and let animals roam freely.

This harkens back to Hermann Goering's plan to turn Poland into a giant game preserve.

It's a nice display of the Greens' idological roots.

analog_peninsula

Sounds good to me but the cynic/pragmtist in me believes it to be a bit of a pipe dream right now...but I think it would be great if it could be pulled off (obviously a huge convoluted array of issues would need to be sorted out to keep the country functioning in a modern economy)

Why is it so bad, why wouldn't a large portion(s) be for hunting??
I, as a hunter and environmentalist, see hunting and conservation as hand in hand, in fact hunting as part of a suite of conservation tools..

Why is more conservation land bad for hunting?
Most hunting in Africa is in protected areas, be they private or govt. including offically designated parks. Many of the 'greens' who proclaimed parks were hunters and vice versa...I think we have missed the point of what being 'green' is - I am a greenie, hell yes, but I believe hunting/fishing is pure form of green living.

Most conservationists in Africa (and those I know abroad) are either hunters or support it. Those who don't like it still accept it. Those that outright hate it are very few and far between in reality, even if they make a diproportionate amount of noise.

I see the new animated movie 'Open Season' is a wonderful piece of Hollywood anti-hunting sentiment....

Cheers all

Just for the record.
Regs Kamaatu

Erindi responds to Lands Ministry
DIE eienaar van Erindi Safari Lodge, mnr. Gert Joubert, het op 13 September ‘n nuuskonferensie in Windhoek gehou waar die grondkwessie ook ter sprake gekom het. In reaksie op mnr. Joubert se opmerkings het die Ministerie van Grond en Hervestiging ‘n nuusvrystelling uitgereik waarin hy aangevat word oor sy standpunte. Mnr. Joubert het nou van sy reg om te antwoord gebruik gemaak en sy jongste nuusvrystelling word hiermee onveranderd geplaas.

“A Short comment on the Press Release from the Department of Land Reform on 18 September 2006 re Erindi.
I welcome the response of the Department of Land Reform. I found it so healthy for myself and I believe the nation and the outside world that we like brothers can discuss this controversial issue in an amicable way. Please bear in mind the role of perception with investors and people tend to become truths. Use my “ignorance†or “wisdom†about Land Reform as a case study for your Department, because I am suppose to be more informed than a typical foreign investor.
Firstly I just want to correct the statement that I wanted to buy more land. Journalists of 6 newspapers attended my conference and can vouch that I never mentioned buying land.
Land Reform per sé is perceived by foreign investors as the trigger, the catalysts that imploded Zimbabwe’s economy into the basket case it is today. The laughing stock of the World. That’s why Land Reform scares the living daylights out of foreign investors and not only in agriculture or Eco Tourism, but in the whole economy.
Like communism and separate development (Russia and South Africa) one can waste billions of dollars on promoting Land Reform in Namibia, but foreign investors will still find it unpalatable because of the way it is executed and also in its present form it does not make any economic sense to them. I will gladly appear on live NBC Television with the Department and the press present to debate the economic merits of Land Reform.
Imagine Namibians were only allowed to buy diamonds, the price would fall to nothing and everybody would walk around in poverty with hands full of diamonds. I believe there is no difference between diamonds and land, both should be tradeable commodities and both have emotional and sentimental value. The only sense that commercial Land Reform makes is political and emotional, but definitely not business wise.
If the nation is wiling to pay the price for this goal, I as a democrat say go ahead but be aware in the future of the wrath of the masses, the poor and unemployed that is unconsciously helping to pay for this expensive (feel good) exercise and that is not going to benefit from it.
In Ethiopia 90% of the people live off the land (subsistence farmers), one of the poorest countries in the world. In America 10% of the people owns 90% of the land. One of the wealthiest countries. There is a negative correlation between the amount of people living of the land and national wealth. If more people become subsistence farmers something terribly is wrong with a country’s economy.
My sincere advice to the Department of Land Reform is: “Take your focus away from commercial farm land and concentrate on unlocking the billions frozen away in communal areas unavailable for the upcoming class of black entrepreneurs that needs all the capital they can get their hands on.â€
And by the way, no offence but please change your Department’s name to for example Department of Land Development and please read Hernando de Soto’s book “The Mystery of Capital†of which I gave 70 copies to Parliament to help convince them of the importance of economic freedom, a common trait amongst economic successful nations.
Governments all over the world do not have a successful track record of solving poverty and unemployment on their own. Only the private sector and specifically Small Business men (Entrepreneurs) can do this job.
Finally, will the Department please explain to the nation why similar land as ours (Erindi and the Northern areas around Etosha) are bought by foreigners for between N$ 20 000 to N$ 30 000 (per hectare) in Mpumalanga versus our local price of N$ 300 to N$ 500 and how does that benefit the country.
Lastly I would gladly and humbly serve as a free advisor to the Department for the good of the nation and no ill feelings.

Greetings
Gert Joubert

Thank you Gert....

Reg the "green" comments, correct me if I am wrong Kamaatu - but Erindi also does hunting on a large (160,000 acre) ranch? So they are not anti-huning, right?

No real webpage, but they do full-size color ads in SCI (the ones w/the herd of giraffe running across the plains), and Atcheson's books for them.

http://www.erindigamereserve.com/

quote:

In America 10% of the people owns 90% of the land. One of the wealthiest countries.

America over-all has more wealth but even poor people own land (I'm one of them). The 10% to 90% ratio seems quite a bit off to me.

They do hunting! Gert is in a position to write an open letter like that due to his financial position. If one of us common locals would write such a letter it would be classified as typical moaning of the "formerly privilidged".
Anyway, had a long discussen recently with one of the "currently advantaged" within the top ranks of the namibian government. Reminds me of one of the apes starring in Mogli.
Regs Kamaatu

Wonder what the plan is for the cattle ranchers of Namibia, still a major player in the economy and politics of Namibia. Without fences there is no cattle business. Do they become zebra breeders or open up shops for the eco tourists passing through?