Limpopo - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on white landowners to keep faith in the constitution – and keep on investing in their farms.
Ramaphosa was speaking at a wildlife auction on Saturday in Limpopo where he made more than $2.6 million (R28m) for three of his white-flanked impala – a far cry from the outcry two years ago when he bid on a $2 million buffalo.
Then, he was criticised for being extravagant in a poverty-stricken country.
Ramaphosa, in khaki from head to toe, arrived with his wife, Tshepo, in a Bell 407 helicopter at the Stud Game Breeders auction held at Mbizi Lodge, where he was selling his prize animals.
The 61-year-old politician weighed in on the country’s contentious land ownership debate, defending the right of white private game breeders to own land, as the row over land restitution continues to rage.
“Continue investing in your farms because the constitution is there as a black-and-white document to guarantee the rights of all of us,” he said.
The audience, a well-heeled crowd of overwhelmingly white, khaki-clad men and women with Louis Vuitton bags, broke into loud applause and whistles.
“You should not stop investing because, through investment, you are creating jobs,” said Ramaphosa, “you are creating opportunities.”
The game breeding industry is controversial for its financial display (this auction brought in more than $22m) but analysts say high prices help protect animals against poaching and habitat destruction.
With their exceptional means, private game breeders are able to rebuild animal populations.
“I’ve got more sable than Kruger National Park,” said Norman Adami, owner of Nyumbu game farm.
The quality of the specimen, the size, colour and disposition of an animal are all factored into its price.
“Eight years ago, a 15-inch sable (with 15-inch horns) was a big sable,” said Adami. “Now you’re seeing sable with 50 inches. In 10 years, it’s going to be 60. Those magnificent specimens are being recreated.”
Adami, chairman of SABMiller’s operations in SA, doesn’t expect prices of the animals to depreciate in his lifetime. “This industry has performed exceptionally well, better than the stock market,” he said.
The rise of the industry is a result of South African legislation giving a private landowner total control over his animals.
“The game farming industry and trophy hunting is a form of ecotourism,” said Brian Reilly, nature conservation professor at the Tshwane University of Technology.
“It’s the highest form of ecotourism.”
While conservationists may take issue with the breeders emphasising unnatural coat colours – such as Ramaphosa’s ghostly white impala – many concede the industry is helping their cause by increasing numbers and protecting the animals.
Now the government needs to find a way to reward the private farms for prioritising conservation and biodiversity, said Reilly.
“There is a transfer of the social responsibility of conservation to the private sector, but the game industry isn’t getting anything for it,” he said.
“There should be some system of saying if we’re going to achieve our biodiversity goals, let’s compensate the landowners,” he said. “We’ve got to find a working model for that.”
Until then, private game breeders will keep making up the rules of their lucrative industry as they go.
Ramaphosa would not say how much he made in total as a seller at auction for the first time.
But he ended the day with a big smile.
Sapa-AFP