Africa Wild

To give more explanation, for foreign viewers:

This is payed for by SA taxpayers, including the communities who pay sales and fuel tax at least. SA is one of the most taxed countries on earth.

The ruling part gets absolutely free election mileage at the cost of said taxpayers, with tantalising promises of more in the future, after elections in August. Mr Sambo understands the "deal" perfectly, for example.

Meanwhile, make no mistake, the missing money from non-SA contibutors, you foreigners, has been cleverly patched in via the conservation levy you pay in abundance when you visit. This goes to SANParks community projects, also attended upon distribution by ruling political party officials, to help "redress" the evils of the past. So by implication you foreigners are also paying for apartheid. Very neat!

for... or against apartheid

Against!

1% Community Levy on all reservations for accommodation and activities is a small amount and it goes mainly into education infrastructure

I am a supporter of this (though majority of SA members might disagree )

Those of you who have been in contact with rural schools in the poorest communities will know that it is a good thing to upgrade some poor schools

Of course, but that is Dept of Education's problem, not that of simple tourists...

If I were a member of a community neighbouring Kruger Park i would wake up every morning and thank the gods for the ecomomic pot of gold that has sustained the Lowveld for so many years, in so many ways, rather than demand "protection money".

Imagine no Kruger, and the Lowveld economy without that?

Richprins wrote:
Imagine no Kruger, and the Lowveld economy without that?

lot and lot of unemployed people and not only

The public education sector is either under-funded or there are the wrong spending priorities, so nothing wrong with SANParks (and by the way also Ezemvelo) doing some visible improvements

This levy is actually a kind of luxury tax , and they should expand it to the shops and restaurants in Kruger (and of course spa services etc.!)

nan wrote:for... or against apartheid

South Africans as a nation, I believe have managed
to outlive those days in context,..

Just a great pity that such a small minority still cling
to these pathetic theories, them with authority!!!

The idiots went as far as using our "anti hotel" palm of
the hand to protect this idiot,...

Toks, Basic Education has the biggest budget of all Ministeries in SA, many years now, and many Billions!

Looking at your Ezimvelo/iSamangaliso article, they sorted their claims out a while ago, without much fanfare, and including far more sensible ownership models for communities!



When it was proclaimed in 1999, iSimangaliso was under a 100% land claim, and 72% of the park area is now owned by land claimants. The park’s authority pioneered the first restitution policy in parks.

Claimants are given recognition and title, but land is restricted to conservation use, and managed by the state. Claimants are compensated for this limitation on land use in the form of jobs, training, ownership in tourism facilities, and payment of a percentage of commercial revenue. Claims, however, are never quite settled, and there is a level of ongoing contestation within communities. This provides an opportunity to create active ownership and the protection of iSimangaliso.


https://www.africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=6375

Here is an article to put it into a worldwide context, makes it evident that this is not a specific apartheid-related or typical SA problem.

https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/186480/?n3wsletter