The Fish River Sun was closed in 2017, now a group of investors are waiting for the appointment of trustees to begin development plans.
A once-picturesque resort along South Africa’s Sunshine Coast is in the final stages of a legal arm-wrestle that has left the property in ruins.
The Fish River Sun ceased operations in 2017 at the height of a land claim battle between opposing communities, with promises to refurbish the site yet to materialise.
The department of land reform and rural development recently confirmed that the land claim had been finalised as eager developers wait on the government to conclude the next step.
R131 million spent so far
A video circulated on social media this weekend showed an aerial view of the abandoned Gary Player-designed golf course and disused amenities.
The department confirmed in a recent written parliamentary response that the land had been registered under the Amagqunukhwebe Prudhoe Community Trust.
ActionSA’s Athol Trollip asked the department if there were any outstanding claims or resolutions relating to the 2018 court order which ruled in the Prudhoe community’s favour.
“The claim was settled through the Land Court and the land is transferred to the community trust, which comprises all the verified beneficiaries. No qualifying beneficiary has been excluded in the settlement of the claim,” Land Reform Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso replied.
While the property is now a shambles, the department confirmed in June that R75.9 million had been spent on purchasing the land and another R55.1 million spent on management and caretaker fees since the resort’s closure.
“A total amount of R131 million has been invested since the acquisition of the property in December 2017,” Nyhontso said.
New dawn rising?
A company was appointed in 2021 to develop the site and announced in 2022 it had secured R500 million for the refurbishment of the Fish River Sun and adjacent properties.
Vumelana Advisory Fund said it had secured a 49-year lease with a media production company that would bring 150 jobs to the area.
Disputes with community members led to a collapse of the deal, with Vumelana telling The Citizen in April this year it was no longer involved.
The latest suitors are a partnership consisting of The Daku Group and The Lux Collective, who have a refurbishment agreement signed in 2024 with the trust. However, the trust currently lacks a board of trustees.
“We await the finalisation of the new trustees by the Master of the High Court in Bhisho. We have asked the Minister of Land Affairs to intervene,” CEO of The Daku Group Xoliswa Daku told The Citizen.
“The investors are ready, they came twice to the site. The trust informed us of their internal trustees’ challenges which the Master is addressing,” Daku explained.
Looted in 2023
The trust and the Eastern Cape Land Claims Commissioner were asked for an update on the process but no response had been received at the time of publication.
The current state of the resort is the result of a 2023 looting spree and subsequent alleged criminal activities being run from the resort.
Trollip asked the department what had been done to protect the site or arrest the responsible parties, with the minister confirming a criminal case had been opened with the police.
“The department is not aware of any individuals that have subsequently been arrested, charged or prosecuted in this regard, nor can the department confirm whether any of the individuals were members of the Prudhoe community,” Nyhontso said in June.
Competing land claims have seen the land court rule in favour of the Mazazini community before an appeal by the Prudhoe community rescinded that judgment in 2011.
The two communities have both argued that their ancestors were dispossessed of the land by the British in the late 1840s.
Both communities also said they were removed from the land by the Ciskei government in the late 1980s to make way for the construction of the resort.
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