Erindi to be re-offered to govt

The Namibian government will soon have a second chance to buy the popular Erindi Private Game Reserve. Majority shareholder of the game reserve Gert Joubert yesterday confirmed that Erindi will be up for sale soon and that government will be given the first option of refusal. The owners will soon make a presentation to government, as they are of the opinion that the game reserve is such a fantastic place that Namibia should own it. The Erindi owners last year withdrew their offer to sell, after putting up the 65 000 hectare farm on the market for N$1.3 billion. The new asking price for Erindi will most likely be in the vicinity of N$1.43 billion. “This is a very conservative offer and in South Africa land of the same size is selling for N$4 billion to N$5 billion at least, Joubert said. He said they were not fully prepared when they put Erindi up for sale previously and did not know the procedures. Since then, they have been busy working on an extensive proposal to make to government. Last year, the potential sale of the reserve caused a great deal of controversy, when it was proposed that it should be sold to foreign buyers. Joubert at that stage expressed concern that the Agricultural Land Reform Act only deals with resettlement and cattle farming. “Erindi is not suitable for this, he said. Referring to the Act, he said it only makes mention of agricultural land, game farming and not tourism. He said yesterday that experts have been working at Erindi for months to finalise the evaluation and valuation of Erindi, and that they are still busy completing the documentation before a proposal will be made to government. He said although his first option was to sell a share of the reserve, this would probably not be viable. Joubert stressed that Erindi is not just another farm, but a nature reservation. “This is a business with about 20 000 animals on it. We want the government to buy it. The biodiversity is unbelievable. This is the missing diamond in the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) portfolio. He said they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Erindi to make it what it is today. “There is no other place like this, but I have to move on to another chapter of my life. It is my personal opinion that the government should buy Erindi and I am certain that money will not be a problem, but they will have to make an offer to us. WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT