Back to Index

South African-owned Zim game ranch illegally occupied in defiance of BIPPA
Commercial Farmers' Union Zimbabwe
April 15, 2010

In defiance of a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) signed by South Africa and Zimbabwe on November 27 last year, a South African-owned game ranch was taken over yesterday at 17h00 in the Beitbridge area of Matabeleland South.

This is the first contravention of the BIPPA which protects South African investments in Zimbabwe from the date of signing and includes agricultural land.

The deal was lauded as being the key to unlocking millions of rands worth of investment from South Africa.

"It is extremely unfortunate that this is taking place at a stage when South African President Jacob Zuma is engaging with our transitional government to find a peaceful way forward for the country," said Deon Theron, president of the Commercial Farmers' Union.

"April 18 is the 30th anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence but we have nothing to celebrate. We are now totally dependent on the international donor community for food aid whereas in 1980 we were recognised as a food secure country and an exporter," Theron said.

Just 46 km from the South African border, Denlynian Ranch is a highly regarded destination for conservationists, overseas tourists and South African visitors, generating valuable foreign currency for Zimbabwe.

For months the owners and their employees have been subjected to ongoing harassment, hampering operations on the game farm and nearby Benfer citrus estate, also owned by the South African shareholders.

In February, the police were instructed by the National Land Inspectorate to prosecute the son of one of the owners although there was no official case against him.

During March, a young game guard from the unit was arrested by the police without warning and placed in custody. He was subsequently taken to the public prosecutor, who admitted there was no legal reason to prosecute, and he was finally released a few days later.

According to commentators who cannot be named for security reasons, the local police are under significant pressure from police headquarters in Harare to force the few remaining commercial farmers off their land.

Denlynian is an ecologically significant game ranch, described by a prominent British botanist as having the finest riverine forest of its type he had seen worldwide. The land is totally unsuitable for resettlement as it is situated in Zimbabwe's Ecological Region 6, which is classified as semi-desert, with the lowest rainfall in the country and the highest recorded evaporation.

Due to the shallow basalt soils, rocky ridges and lack of natural surface water, the land is officially categorised as not fit for human habitation and is also unsuitable for cattle and cropping.

Denlynian Range was purchased in 1984 after receipt of an official letter of no interest from the Zimbabwean government, which had bought a large section of land across the Umzingwane River and required no additional land in the area.

Over 24 years, the owners sank boreholes, installed electricity and transformed the 20 000 ha ranch into a viable wildlife sanctuary protected by 75 km of 16 strand game fencing.

They stocked it with giraffe, zebra, wildebees, eland, kudu, impala, bushbuck, duiker and steenbok and created a haven for cheetah, leopard and, more recently two breeding packs of the highly endangered wild dog.

With the well-documented slaughter of Zimbabwe's prized wildlife throughout the conservancies and commercial farms, as well as in the national parks over the past decade, Denlynian Ranch's importance as a game sanctuary and gene pool is has become increasingly critical.

"The Soccer World Cup is taking place in South Africa less than two months away and Zimbabwe should be doing everything possible to capitalise on this unique tourism opportunity," said Theron. "We should also be providing South Africa with support at this critical time."

"Instead, our actions are driving away potential tourists and impacting negatively on the entire SADC region, both from a tourism and investment perspective," he concluded.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP