The battle for the land Kerzner used for Wild Coast Sun rages on
The land was returned to the Umgungundlovu community, which is now embroiled in a fight with the Umgungundlovu Communal Property Association and has accused the association of lining their pockets with money that should have been given to the claimants. T
There was a time when 117 families of abasuswa (the displaced) were looking forward to attaining the land on which the gigantic Wild Coast Resort and Casino is built.
But now their hopes are shattered. The land-claim recipients are split into two warring factions, many of them living in abject poverty, with allegations that the uMgungundlovu Communal Property Association (MCPA) committee – which was elected a few years ago to advocate for their rights – has gone rogue and is embezzling funds meant for the displaced families.
The MCPA denies the accusations, saying that some community members are being agitated by previous committee members.
A government investigation is trying to get to the bottom of these allegations and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has applied to court to have the MCPA and all the funds it handles put under administration.
In October 2018, government officials, lawyers representing the displaced and executives of Sun International (which owns and runs the Wild Coast Sun Resort and Casino) announced a deal that would see the families being awarded 700ha of land facing the Indian Ocean and become part owners of the Wild Coast Sun Resort and Casino.
Over and above that, the deal meant that the 117 displaced families received R23-million in financial compensation – R98,000 each for the 117 families – and another R27-million to be invested to develop tourism ventures that would provide job and economic opportunities to the community.
This deal also stipulated that the land would be restored to the community as from November 2019 and Sun International would rent the land (on which the casino and resort is built) from the community at R4-million a year – at an escalating rate of 6% a year. The agreement stipulated that the uMgungundlovu land claimants would take a 28.4% shareholding in the casino and resort.
But soon after the funds started rolling in, the community was split into two, with some supporting the MCPA and others accusing it of embezzling funds and illegally paying MCPA members exorbitant salaries.
The families were forcibly displaced in the 1970s after a deal between the late casino mogul Sol Kerzner and the Matanzima brothers, who ruled in the Transkei homeland. They were dumped in the Mzamba communal area and told to fend for themselves. Kerzner fenced the pristine land and built a casino and resort with an 18-hole golf course.
In 1986, Kerzner testified that he had paid a bribe of $1-million to George Matanzima to get the land to build the casino and resort.
Matanzima was arrested and charged with corruption, sentenced to nine years and later pardoned after serving only two years. Kerzner evaded charges and was later pardoned.
The uMgungundlovu community lodged its land claim in 1995. After years of verification and negotiations, a deal was struck in October 2018. President Cyril Ramaphosa was scheduled to make the formal handover in May 2020 but owing to the infighting and threats of violence, the plans were set aside.
Over the years, people were sent from pillar to post to fight for their land, but most have since died, leaving the younger generation to pick up the battle.
Sixty-five-year-old Solifina Vundla remembers when her family and neighbours were displaced. “I had just given birth to my first-born son, who is now 41 years old,” she said. “It was a very painful experience.”
found Vundla on a hillside a few kilometres from her modest home, which is located about 25km from the casino. She was cutting wood with a bush knife. She said she uses wood to cook for her three grandchildren she supports with her pensioner grant.
Vundla accuses the members of the MCPA committee of using the money meant for the displaced to enrich themselves.
“We have attended countless meetings and empty promises were made. But what hurt me the most is the committee members’ lavish life. Committee members are busy paying themselves thousands of rands every month and we, the people who appointed them, are poor,” she sighed.
“At my age I am supposed to be sitting at home and enjoying my retirement. But look at me, I’m forced to look for firewood because I can’t afford to buy electricity,” she said. “The MCPA members are living large, building big, beautiful houses with our money,” she claimed.
Vundla and others said the MCPA committee was supposed to pay each of the displaced families R8,000 every two months. This is money paid by Sun International as part of the deal. But families claim this is not happening consistently and that the money is deposited from the MCPA bank accounts into their accounts irregularly. “Whenever they deposit the money, I have to share it with my three unemployed sons,” she said.
Nkosiphendule Malindane, a 39-year-old unemployed man, said his parents died a few years ago without getting a cent in compensation. Whenever the R8,000 was deposited, he had to share it with his two unemployed sisters and brother.
“I was not born when they were forced to move away by the [erstwhile] Transkei Defence Force. But they often told me about the hardship they suffered. Now it is very painful to see people [MCPA members] enriching themselves with the money that was supposed to be given to our families.
“Various projects are held at the Casino and we, the displaced, should benefit but now only few well-connected people are benefiting from these projects,” he said. He said the MCPA’s term of office expired in November 2020, but they were using Covid-19 to dodge calls for meetings to elect new leadership.
“They know that their time has passed but they are ignoring our calls for a meeting to elect new leadership. Some people here are so angry that they are threatening to use violence because they are tired of seeing MCPA members eating our money,” he said.
Elias Ogle, a former member of the land claim committee and head of the Mbizana Development Trust, said there were many things that the MCPA did without consulting with the claimant community.
“There was no community resolution taken to pay the salaries of the MCPA members. There is a lot of funds that have been spent but are unaccounted for. There was no community resolution to make some of the deals with Wild Coast Sun Casino and Resorts. Sun International are our tenants but, due to the deal they signed with the MCPA, they are calling all the shots,” Ogle said, confirming that attempts to call for a meeting to account for the MCPA funds and oust MCPA members have been ignored and sidestepped.
Skhumbuzo Mchunu, chairperson of the MCPA, admits the committee’s term of of
Committee members
are busy paying themselves thousands of rands every month
and we, the people who appointed them,
are poor
fires hass expired but said Covid-19 restriction prevented the AGM from taking place and another meeting to elect new leadership. He dismissed embezzlement allegations. “The members of the committee are paid for the duties they are doing at the office. The com-munity agreed that the committee must be paid," he said, declining to reveal the amount ittee members were being paid.
"These allegations are made by people who served in the land-claim committee. When they were outvoted they started get-ting some people in the community to agi-tate and make allegations that we are eating the money meant for the claimants.
"These people have approached the court several times but their applications have been dismissed with costs. Last year they took us to the High Court in Umtata and that case was also dismissed,” he said.
"The MCPA has not had access to any of the funds of the claimants. Of the R27-million that was awarded by the government, R-20million has been invested with the Investec bank and another R5-million has been Invested with the Nedbank money market. We are working hard to get investors to come and invest in the community-owned tourism ventures.”
Mchunu added that they are waiting for the easing of lockdown restrictions so that the new committee could be elected.
Nonmfundo Ntloko-Gobodo, chief land claims commissioner, said its mandate was completed after the historic land deal was reached. “Our role ends after a claim has been settled and a viable framework for implementation of a settlement model has been developed as part of a settlement agreement. The uMgungundlovu land claim is a settled matter to which the CRLR has no further mandate.
"At the time [in April 2020] of my last response, the Commission was planning a hand over ceremony to officially hand over title deeds for the claimed land to the community. Due to security concerns the said event had to be postponed. Notwithstandese issues the Commission has ensured that gogos and mkhulus receive their financial compensation payouts and that a copy of the title need was given to the uMgun-gundlovu Communal Property Association as proof that the land belongs to its beneficiaries.
"We have thus far paid out more than 95% of the financial award to beneficiaries for and contin-ue to engage with other beneficiaries for documen-tation that will enable us to effect payments for them,” Nt-loko Gobodo added.
The DALRRD had been putting plans in place to resolve the feuds, and hired a legal team to mediate. Department spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said: “The mediation endeavours employed to resolve a dispute between the members of the MCPA did not succeed due to the failure or refusal of the committee to participate and the department filed an application to Court to place the uMgungundlovu CPA under administration, as the next step owards the dispute resolution, in terms of the Communal Porperty Associations Act 28 of 1996.
"The application to Court to place the MCPA under administration is at an advanced stage. Placing the uMgungundlovu CPA under administration in order to investigate the complaints, find solutions to the allegations raised against the Committee. [This process will also] give proper guidance to the MCPA and assist with proper management and administration of the MCPA and get the members to fully participate in all the dispute resolution processes, as may be required, towards settlement of the dispute(s).”
Graham Wood, Sun International group COO for hospitality, said his company had honoured its part in the deal and was not involved in any of the disputes. “The land claim has been finalised and Transkei Sun International Proprietary Limited trading as Wild Coast Sun Resort and Casino is leasing the land, on which it operates, from the … MCPA.
“We can also confirm that Wild Coast Sun is indeed honouring agreements in place with the MCPA, but disbursement to the MCPA members is not managed by the Wild Coast Sun. It would be inappropriate for us to comment about alleged disputes relating to beneficiaries of the MCPA, but we can confirm that we are nevertheless complying with all contractual obligations,” he said.