I've read over the years about operators gaining new areas or talk about how someone use to have a certain area, but lost it.

How are safari areas obtained and how long does an operator maintain control?

As I recall, its competitive bid by the government.

I was there when Mokore, Humani and a few others lost Chewore south.

In essence, the companies bid on the area for a set period of time, and the high bidder gets it.

This being Zimbabwe, the government end of it can be ugly. Mokore was given a matter of days to present their bid and money to keep things, and it was not possible to pull it off. This is coincidentally how one needs to be careful of people on the State Department's list- you may not be dealing with a banned person, but if they are in the trail for the concession...

I'm not sure of the length that the bidder has rights- it may be as long as 10 years.

Lots of folks sub let access as well. I'm not sure who is the actual owner of the Chewore area now- I think HHK or Chifuti, but someone else, such as Ganyana may be able to give you more info on that.

There are two situations: District Council (Communal) land, and Parks-controlled Safari areas. The latter are done by competitive bid, and they run for 5 years with an option to extend for another 5. Your bid is an upfront payment, and then of course you also pay the majority of any trophy fees to Parks. You get to keep the daily rates.

District Council deals are less transparent and not always competitive. But that works against you as they can pull the rug from under you if you "misbehave".

Either case, the quotas are set by Parks.

Why do you want to know?

Parks control all of the areas set aside as Safari areas under the Parks and Wildlife Act (20:14) There is a set down proceedure for the awarding of an area to the Highest Bidder . Generally most operators will hold on to an area for 10 years(5year initial and 5 year option to renew)

Communal areas and Council areas are based on agreement with the controlling district Council. Due to the nature of the councils and the make up thereof, a few operators have had hassles with the Councils who forget that they have an agreement in place and go off looking for other operators who may grease their palms a little. There have been cases of Councils signing new agreements with new operators despite the existance of valid agreements .As far as I know, the courts have always ensured that the initial lease hold is honoured.

ALL wildlife quotas on all hunting properties are set by National parks

simple , the white guys buy them and mugabe takes them away

Russ,
I'm wondering if it wouldn't be prudent to ask a prospect company about the length of time left on their area.

COUNCIL... Pirates, black mafia, scoundrel, whatever. What a pleasure to not have to count on deals with these types with hand out 24 \ 7.
Good luck to those who are now in for a skinning in the valley. Give me Parks every time.

SBT: The last time I got into this issue, ie an operator selling a hunt when he knew full well that his lease was up (or about to be cancelled), and I think it was in response to one of your posts, I got pilloried by the AR mafia.

However, I tell it like I see it, and damn the torpedoes.

Yes of course you can ask. But an operator has no business selling a hunt in year X if they don't have the area firmly under contract at least through year X. And the operator is unlikely to admit he just sold you a hunt that's not his to sell. So it's a rhetorical question.

Better to ask someone OTHER than the operator himself, before you put down your money, if you have doubts.

It all comes down to the issue of trust, in a long distance transaction involving a substantial sum of money, with no practical recourse. For this reason, the more flaky the outfit, the less money you should put at risk, and the less time you should leave it hanging out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
The last time I got into this issue, ie an operator selling a hunt when he knew full well that his lease was up (or about to be cancelled), and I think it was in response to one of your posts, I got pilloried by the AR mafia.

I believe you also recently admitted the information you tried to pass off as fact was wrong, so perhaps the "AR mafia" was warranted in its pillory. Here is the post in case you have forgotten.


For the record, Mr. Rogers, I terminated my relationship with Ben Kotze in March of 2009 after he (Ben) misled me regarding a hunt organized by Lourens Botha in the Chirisa Safari Area, the details of which were published in African Hunter, and prior to publication there, were shared with Graham Hingeston of HHK. I have never had any relationship with Mr. Botha, although I did have an altercation with him on that occasion. I have no idea who Baleni is. Please refrain from lumping me in with those persons. I don't have a relationship with any of them. I do have a relationship with Graham, and that is working well for both of us. I don't know you from Adam and made the mistake of relating (under duress) some hearsay regarding your operation on AR on a previous occasion. It was not intended as a personal attack, although your agent and some of your friends took it as such. I apologize for that. I trust that we are now "even". I would appreciate it if you would refrain from posting further hearsay about me, and I will do the same from my end. Russ Gould BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris Doublegunhq.com, Fine English, American and German Double Rifles and Shotguns VH2Q.com, Varmint Rifles and Gear