Tourist jewel now worthless land-claim asset
ONE of the Lowveld’s top holiday venues is to close this week because of a land claim that has failed the community it was meant to benefit.
The renowned Cybele Forest Lodge and Spa, which lies in a forest between White River and Hazyview in Mpumalanga, is due to be taken over by the local community in a deal that cost the taxpayer R17-million.
But the rug has been pulled from under the community because the government failed to provide for the continued running of the venue’s jewel, a five-star lodge that has drawn tourists from around the world in its 34-year existence.
The Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs spent millions buying the lodge in a land restitution claim for the Manzimhlophe community, a group of some 50 families scattered around Nelspruit.
The government bought the farm on which the lodge lies after the community’s claim was approved in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act.
The community was moved from the farm during the 1960s at the height of apartheid evictions.
Surely it can’t be right that land restitution works like this
Later this week, they will return to take ownership of the lodge when the present owners depart. But they have no means to run the place.
The government did not to buy the infrastructure — or even the name — that would have enabled the lodge to keep operating.
The community will inherit an empty lodge, which has spa rooms and 12 bedrooms. There are seven swimming pools, but there will be no pumps to keep them clean.
Unless the community can quickly find an investor, the once flourishing tourist business will die.
In August, the minister of rural development and land reform, Gugile Nkwinti, approved and registered the claim on behalf of the community.
In a three-page letter, Malema Ntsime, deputy director of communications of the department, refused to say whether the sale had been pushed through without first ensuring that Cybele Lodge could continue to operate.
Ntsime said various business partners had pulled out of deals to form partnerships with the community, including the current owners, who will leave this week.
Three investors expressed an interest in working with the community, but nothing had been signed. He said the Land Claims Commission had “committed itself to purchase some of the movable assets which are still in a good condition”.
He said there was “an interested investor” available and a meeting would take place tomorrow.
This is a sad day . . . a great loss of one of the greatest lodges in SA
But it all seems too little, too late.
Rupert Jeffries, the current owner, said he was packing up and selling the contents of Cybele Lodge on auction because it was not included in the sale.
“This beautiful place will just be closed up. I feel loss. The community who got the land feel loss because they’re getting something, but they are also getting nothing because they can’t operate the lodge.
“Surely it can’t be right that land restitution works like this. I think the government rushed into buying the land without ensuring that it can continue to be an asset for the new owners,” said Jeffries.
“I don’t understand it and it makes me sad because it’s a beautiful place that I’ve loved for 34 years.”
The lodge’s 45 staff, some of whom have been there for more than 20 years, were handed their retrenchment letters this week. Bookings for December have been cancelled and will be refunded by Jeffries.
Five years after lodging a land claim for the farm — portion four of Lightfontein — from which the Manzimhlophe community’s families were removed, the community said this week it had little to celebrate.
Elvis Matsaba, 57, the son of William Matsaba, chief of the people who were removed in the 1960s, said they were “desperate” to ensure that the lodge “doesn’t go to waste”.
“We may not have the means and the capacity to keep the lodge going, but we are hoping that an investor will come on board so that our community benefits from getting the land back,” Matsaba said. “We believe that the government has to ensure that the lodge continues to work for our benefit.”
He said they felt let down because they expected to be trained so that they were able to understand the business.
News of the lodge’s closure spread quickly and shocked the international tourism industry, causing hundreds of former guests to send letters and e-mails questioning the closure.
“This is a sad day for South Africa’s tourism, a great loss of one of the greatest lodges South Africa had to offer,” reads one of the comments on Travel Daily, an international travel news online portal.