Application for the development of luxurious hotel in KNP halted
A controversial application for a luxurious hotel development in the south of the Kruger National Park, linked to the chairman of the South African National Parks board Mr Kuseni Dlamini, is off the cards.
MALALANE – A controversial application for a luxurious hotel development in the south of the Kruger National Park, linked to the chairman of the South African National Parks board Mr Kuseni Dlamini, is off the cards.
On September 8 Mr Ishaam Abader, deputy director general of compliance at environmental affairs, released a notice indicating that the application process had been closed.
Dlamini was accused by conservationists of a conflict of interest after exposure of his connections to the proposed 120-room Radisson Blu Safari Resort, scheduled to open its doors near Malalane last year.
An Oxpeckers report in March 2011 noted that Dlamini was a non-executive director of Mvelaphanda Group Limited, which was partly owned by Mvelaphanda Holdings.
The Rezidor Hotel Group, a Swiss company that planned to develop the hotel, extended its partnership with Mvelaphanda Holdings to cover the management of all Rezidor hotels in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Conservationists opposed to the proposed hotel said an environmental impact assessment (EIA) had been commissioned about six months after the contract was awarded, and there was not sufficient public consultation.
Abader said the applicants had failed to meet certain deadlines stipulated under the EIA regulations, and the application had therefore been closed. If they wanted to pursue the proposed development, they would have to submit a new EIA application, he said.
A document regarding the EIA was handed over to the department on November 8 last year. Radison was supposed to hand over a report regarding the assessment within six months, but this was not done.
The department informed Radison on July 30 that the application would close in the next 15 days if nothing is received by then.
The document states, “No feedback was received and therefor the application is closed.”
Businessmen, residents and tourism role players gave their opinions regarding the closure of the project. Representative for the Kruger Park south association Ms Mathilda Bezuidenhout said, “Most of our members are happy that the development will not continue. The reasons being there will not be damage inflicted to the fauna and flora as the carbon footprint of the development was never discussed in either of the group’s reports. The underestimation of the tourists’ national and internationals needs were not taken in to account, except for the conference market who attended the KNP for other reasons. A guest once said to me, ‘I know an en-suite hotel room, I want to experience the bush, the animals and the accommodation they offer.’
“To them it is part of Africa. The negative of the situation is that the development would have given a much needed injection to our hardware stores as well as services providers and would have been a stable support even after construction. As for the Malalane Gate parking area, we would not have known how this would have effected the gate or the tourists using the entrance, nor how many vehicles would have made use of it and how that would have affected the day visitors of Malalane guest houses. Our organisation fully supports development and that of creating work opportunities. Any development is welcome, as long as the relevant plans are up to standard and comply to laws and regulations.”
