In the middle of Kruger National Park, South Africa's most celebrated game reserve, a luxury train takes passengers but never moves. At the Kruger Shalati - known as the Train on the Bridge - guests gaze over the animals kingdom, from the golden sunrise until the Milky Way spills across the nighttime sky. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)
Most municipalities in this country are mismanaged.
Incompetence and downright theft result in poor, or no delivery of services at all. Yet the one thing many have in common is a desire to gouge even more out of ratepayers.
It is worrying, then, that a number of municipalities are considering amending their rates policies to bill game farms on a commercial, rather than agricultural, scale.
In Mangaung, the latest to propose such a change, it means owners of game farms will pay 15 times more from 1 July, should the proposal be adopted.
Game farm owners in Thabazimbi are fighting a similar move. The councils are relying on the fact that ecotourism and game farming form the definition of agricultural land – but opponents say the law requires rationality when determining rates.
Game farms are often situated in areas where wildlife is more viable than traditional agriculture and often in areas when unemployment is high.
Game farms are also an integral part of the tourist ecosystem, providing the “raw material” which attracts visitors.
To squeeze this sector at a time when joblessness is critical and before tourism has recovered from the devastation of Covid-19, would be short-sighted and potentially highly damaging to the economy.
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