What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels in Kruger?

General Information & Discussion on Hotels in Kruger
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Richprins
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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by Richprins »

Pleasure, Duke! I don't think one can put up the exact stuff if it's part of an investigation? -O- Don't have that anyway! :-)


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by Duke »

The link you provided was exactly what I was looking for RP \O

Just wanted to confirm whether AIKONA mentioned 47 dead roan antelope - wait a minute, this is completely ignored in the response. So was it due to negligence that we lost 47 roan antelope. Would like to see a response on this from SANP so we stop speculating about it.


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

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Opinion piece on Aikona


Date: 7th October 2013

The South African National Parks (SANParks) was not surprised by the call made by AIKONA – a non-governmental group objecting to hotel developments in the Kruger National Park last week requesting the Public Protector to investigate certain issues that they conclude amount to “maladministration”. The issues range from the bonuses paid to the executive management, to the composition of the board, to the so called “commercialization” of the Kruger National Park (KNP) and they are also – questioning why the executive should be paid bonuses while rhinos are being poached.



Firstly, AIKONA has every right to exercise the public interest right like any citizen as directed by the constitution of the republic however such a right should be executed without maligning the reputation and integrity of SANParks and its employees. Unfortunately AIKONA is on an ideological and political warpath to protect apartheid era conservation legacies Is that not maligning the reputation and integrity of AIKONA without substantiation?by projecting the current leadership at SANParks as out of sync with its mandate, incompetent, corrupt and reckless. The choice of conducting their malicious accusations in certain publications raises more questions than answers. This is a clear indication that AIKONA’s interests are only focused on one section of the population. This means Beeld, an Afrikaans newspaper. In fact, queries regarding SANParks' commercialisation have appeared in various other publications, even on National Television and Carte Blanche...

Business Day: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=190&t=167

Tourism Tattler: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=190&t=433

CB: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=190&t=196

For example, and there are more, but you get the picture...a clear indication that SANParks' protests here are only focused on one section of the population... :evil:









We view this as only a well-designed strategy to peddle their smear campaign to retain past privileges enjoyed by certain sections of the population in every which way and frustrate any form of transformation that seeks to open the park system to the entire nation. Notice the compliment.."well-designed"...typical political paranoid crapspeak...it's just a plea to stop commercialisation...who ever said anything about not opening the Park system to the nation? Various nations visit the Park system illegally for various purposes, mostly criminally, as has been reported. At this juncture it should be said that Mr Thakhuli, if he wrote this, has veered away from the word racism, as per the advice of SP legal department a few years back. But once Apartheid is googled, the implications are exactly the same, and fools nobody at all...the race card.


We should also mention that AIKONA had previously approached SANParks using Promotion of Access to Information Act, requesting information similar to the accusations they are throwing at SANParks. This information was prepared accordingly and is still awaiting collection by AIKONA. It is very difficult to contact SP meaningfully via electronic media, actually part of the frustration!...unless you owe them money... O** Regarding "no shows"...Aikona and AW were at a meeting regarding the Malelane Hotel last year, and SP didn't bother to pitch up as promised.

This is an indication of a group of people using every tactic to abuse a Section 9 institution in order to achieve a vested ideological and political agenda, under the disguise of a “public right”, hence they were the first to tell the whole world that SANParks is being investigated even before the Public Protector communicated with us. Not nice to be given info without warning, is it?



SANParks has nothing to hide. Salaries of all staff from the general worker to the CEO are determined by the board using independent specialists. The CEO’s salary, which was singled out by AIKONA, was last benchmarked with 17 other public entities in the “large entities” category and was found to be between the median and upper quartile. The comparative analysis took into consideration factors such as size of the business (estate), turnover, assets and number of countries in which it operates. SANParks is a complex organization with a diversified business ranging from conservation, climate change, a large tourism business offering 16 000 beds per night, inter-governmental relations at all spheres of government, community and social issues. If SP is such a complex organisation, why should remuneration of officials be done identically to other parastatals? SP receives donations locally and internationally, and unscheduled assistance from government at various stages, supplementing their shortfalls.We believe that all these factors, along with the CEO’s on going good performance given 10/10 clean audits the organization achieved under his leadership justifies the emoluments paid to him. One should not be rewarded just for getting a clean audit? 0-

Anyway, questions regarding the books here: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=1283


We are puzzled by the call to investigate the composition of the board; this is also not the competency of SANParks. Board members serve at the invitation of the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. Agreed! But a contradiction to Dr Mabunda's earlier replies is this: "The responsibility of conceptualizing, planning, establishment and management of all types of tourism facilities in national parks is the responsibility of the Board of the South African National Parks (SANParks) in terms of Section 57 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act No 57 of 2003, as amended."

https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=190&t=234


The debate on so-called commercialization of the KNP has been going on since 1927 after the KNP’s proclamation as a national park in 1926 viz. building hotels, shops, electrification of tourism facilities, establishment of restaurants having tarred roads, swimming pools, providing air-conditioning and a lot more other things to make the visit pleasant were frowned upon, but today people are enjoying those facilities. The fact is conservation and tourism are intertwined and have evolved over time. Today SANParks serves a diverse group of tourists both local and international and to stay competitive it strive to offer a variety of products hence the two proposed hotel developments in KNP. Anything built in a national park, whether it is road, bridge, airport or hotel has to adhere to strict standards of architecture, sense and character of the place. The hotels will be built lodge-style and will blend with the existing infrastructure. The current executive has been innovative in how they finance conservation without relying much on money from the taxpayers. SANParks generates 85% of its operating budget its tourism activities not forgoing its core mandate which is conservation. AIKONA on the other hand is advocating a thesis that says the state should pay 100% for conservation. Rubbish! 0- How is that possible in country with so many developmental needs? We do not believe pursuing a responsible tourism and sustainable development agenda is an enemy of biodiversity conservation.

Now here's the problem...Why did the Parliamentary Portfolio committee say this in 2011?: "I indeed convinced my ANC colleagues to agree to the committee recommendation to the Department, as printed in parliament last week, that commercialization strategy be reviewed." (Nov. 2) Is that committee blinkered by Apartheid philosophy? And why did the DEA reject the initial scoping report for the Malelane hotel in 2011 too, necesitating all sorts of readjustments from SP side?

https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=190&t=191

No, I'm afraid this doesn't wash at all!

Communities already generate massive amounts of income and employment from Kruger, and it is utterly bizarre that the Malelane Hotel should have been awarded to a foreign consortium in the first place regarding SP's so-called financial responsibility to our country. More to come!





Prepared by:

Ike Phaahla, Media Specialist
and
Reynold Thakhuli, Acting Head of Communications
South African National Parks
Tel: 012 426 5315/5203
Email: isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org or rey.thakhuli@sanparks.org


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iNdlovu
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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by iNdlovu »

"The hotels will be built lodge-style and will blend with the existing infrastructure"

This sounds like they are very sure that the hotels will go ahead -O-


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by H. erectus »

Indy, both up above have a boss and at end of day
really does their thinking for them,.. So, lotsa hotair
spilled too the wind<<......


Heh,.. H.e
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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

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Ja...I wondered a lot as to whether worth replying, especially as we aren't Aikona, and logic dictates that after 4 years, 2 EIA's, and apparently again searching for funding, the Malelane hotel is a dead duck...

These .gov types will simply not accept any loss of face, and will sometimes happily overturn the applecart and redirect funds into a white elephant, especially with election year next year! O**

But worth replying, as he speaks nonsense! :-)


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by Lisbeth »

Is the "Radisson" still playing along? I remember to have read somewhere that they had got cold feet, because it seemed a no win situation?


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

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Radisson are only management. A developer is required! But presumably they are still on board once that happens... O**


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Re: What is the situation/progress with the proposed hotels?

Post by dup »

Duke wrote:The link you provided was exactly what I was looking for RP \O

Just wanted to confirm whether AIKONA mentioned 47 dead roan antelope - wait a minute, this is completely ignored in the response. So was it due to negligence that we lost 47 roan antelope. Would like to see a response on this from SANP so we stop speculating about it.
That outbreak of anthrax also still bother me ;
- without rain it died away(so to speak),
- what happen to the other roan, as it was not "cost effective " to dart and doze them,
???????????????????


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