Empire that ‘Gods’ film built goes bust
Liquidators sell off Boet Troskie family trust properties
● Film producer Boet Troskie is famous for the story of a Coke bottle falling out of the sky in the 1980s classic The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Forty years later, Troskie may be feeling the sky is falling on him as liquidators descend on a family property portfolio built largely on the once-lucrative wildlife trade.
Troskie and his son Jaco are haemorrhaging assets after their family trust was declared insolvent by the Bloemfontein high court. Both are trustees of the Boet Troskie Children’s Trust, which held assets worth about R100m, including several luxury properties.
Three of the properties are now going under the hammer: a seven-bedroom mansion in Fancourt residential golf estate outside George; an adjacent 3,600m² plot; and a fivebedroom property in Constantia, Cape Town.
It could all have been so different for the Troskies, who built up a wildlife and property empire featuring high-profile game auctions and a Northern Cape wildlife reserve.
In 2011, Jaco famously outbid Cyril Ramaphosa for a R20m buffalo, named El Torro, at a state auction. The prize beast was added to the family’s impressive breeding stock on their Unyati Reserve and sired many calves.
But the family fortunes did an about-turn a few years later when El Torro died of TB and many other animals at Unyati tested positive for the disease. The reserve was closed and placed under quarantine for three years by the Northern Cape agriculture department.
Troskie filed a R500m damages claim against various government departments, but it is unclear what happened to the claim.
The Troskie finances were dealt a further blow when the wildlife breeding industry imploded and trophy animals that once fetched millions were sold for a fraction of the price.
Wildlife sources said many investors were caught out when the wildlife bubble burst, a crisis further exacerbated by Covid-19 due to its effect on tourism and international travel.
Liquidator Hannes Muller said the Troskies had withdrawn an appeal against the sequestration of the family trust.
“We are busy selling the assets of the trust. It includes Fancourt and the Constantia property,” Muller said.
He said various creditors would be paid out, including Absa, Standard Bank and Nedbank. There are also inter-company loans within the Troskie Group, Muller said. “Once the assets are sold we will draw a liquidation distribution account and distribute the assets accordingly.”
Two properties in St Francis Bay were sold prior to the sequestration, it emerged from court documents. The trust purchased game for another Troskie entity, B&B Eindomme,
to the tune of over R75m, the documents show.
Boet Troskie established Mimosa Films in 1964 and produced a string of successful films, notably The Gods Must be Crazy with Jamie Uys.
Paul Colquhoun of Icon Properties confirmed the Fancourt properties would be auctioned this month. “Houses in Fancourt fetch between R5m and R35m and it is difficult to guess what this property is worth, but we are enthused by the amount of interest it has attracted,” Colquhoun said.
The main Fancourt property is described as an “imposing home” made up of a main house, a two-bedroom cottage, two separate staff quarters and a four-car garage. It has two formal lounges, a dining room and bar, a large basement wine cellar, Jacuzzi and sauna room, and a wraparound glass entertainment area with built-in braai.
Claremart Auction group confirmed the sale of the Constantia property, which had a R40m Standard Bank mortgage attached when the trust was declared insolvent. The 8,210m² property has a 1,320m² house and parking for 10 cars.
Hunting industry stakeholders said an oversupply of wild animals traded by breeders had caused the market to collapse. “It used to be you could sell a golden wildebeest for over R1m. Now you’re lucky if you get R15,000 or R20,000,” said one ranch owner.
The Troskies could not be reached for comment this week. One of their legal representatives declined to comment, and another could not be reached.