News

16 August 2007
Improving Equity for Addo Communities

The ASL Foundation is currently involved in support for the Mayibuye Ndlovu Development Programme (MNDP), which has identified immediate opportunities to improve active equity and skills participation, by local communities within the bourgeoning tourism development framework in and around the Addo Elephant National park (AENP) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A new legal structure with a new board of trustees was established in late 2004, facilitated by the ASL Foundation.

Integral to the concept business plan compiled by the ASL Programme in 2005 was the development of a CPPP on the Enon-Bersheba community land portion adjacent to AENP comprising some 11,000ha. This development opportunity has now matured and the ASL Foundation has been requested by the South African National Parks (SANParks), the local municipality, and the community to facilitate the development of a land use plan for the portion of the Enon-Bersheba land to be contracted into the AENP. The deal will see a contract national park comprising a large portion of this community-owned land (some estimated 8,000ha) with the retention of commercial rights for the development of an agreed number of tourist beds and activities.

The initiative will make use of the ASL Madikwe models for the development and finance of CPPPs on the land, optimising benefits for local households in the Enon-Bersheba community. SANParks will provide infrastructure for the land incorporation such as game fences, access roads and other enabling developments. In return, they will receive secure tenure over the management of biodiversity on the land and a nominal share of the revenues generated by the community from ecotourism that will contribute to the land and biodiversity management costs.

A market supply-and-demand analysis, conducted by the ASL with ECI International in 2005, confirms that the site is suitable for a middle-to-upper middle-market (3.5 – 4 star) lodge(s) with an average rack rate (inclusive of meals, game drive and cultural event) of around R1,200.00 per person per night. The current projected growth in tourism demand patterns in and around the AENP will support a bed occupancy rate of above 50% by 2007/8. Consensus from tour operators was that they would not only support such a product but that it would be welcomed particularly if it reflected local culture in its design and decor. This scale lodge would deliver a bundle of benefits for local residents, members of the MNDP, as well as generate a biodiversity management contribution for SANParks.

The exact nature of the concessions on the land will be investigated between the ASL Foundation, the community and SANParks, and will need to conform to the norms and standards for a national park. The concessions and lodges to be built will result in a community-private-public partnership (CPPP) that generates significant benefit flows for the Enon-Bersheba community. These benefits comprise permanent and temporary jobs, sustainable SMMEs, a skills transfer programme, and a market-related concession fee for the community.

Benefit streams:

•    The model represents a win-win-win in which previously disadvantaged communities are brought into the concession arrangements as equity owners in line with the objectives of the ASL’s poverty relief outcomes.
•    The Enon-Bersheba community benefits from receiving land rentals, ultimate ownership of the buildings as well as positive showcasing of this benefit-sharing model.
•    Enon-Bersheba residents benefit from jobs and wages, outsourced work for local SMMEs, work in construction and operational phases of the enterprises and skills development programmes.
•    Other communities in the Mayibuye Forum may benefit from the Devco’s surpluses being reinvested in LED and poverty alleviation programmes in their communities. They may also participate in the board of the Devco.