Erindi to battle Ministry over elephants plan

ONE of Namibia’s largest privately owned game parks, Erindi Private Game Reserve, and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism are heading for a courtroom showdown over Erindi’s ambition to boost elephant numbers on its land.

A court order directing Government and the Minister of Environment and Tourism to allow Erindi to either import 200 elephants from South Africa or to buy 200 of the animals from the Environment Ministry is set to be cancelled to give the Ministry an opportunity to properly defend a case that Erindi has filed with the High Court.Erindi Ranch (Pty) Ltd, which is the owner of Erindi Private Game Reserve between Okahandja and Omaruru, obtained the court order on an unopposed basis on April 15. With the Office of the Government Attorney however arguing that Government and the Minister of Environment and Tourism were not given the required length of time to notify the court that Erindi Ranch’s application would be opposed, it has been agreed that the court order will be rescinded and that the case will continue on an opposed basis, Erindi Ranch’s lawyer, Charles Bodenstein, said on enquiry on Friday.With the order that was granted by Judge Johan Swanepoel on April 15 a moratorium that the Minister of Environment and Tourism placed on the issuing of permits for the importation of some species of wild animals – including elephants – was declared to be in conflict with the Constitution and the Nature Conservation Ordinance of 1975, and consequently to be null and void.The court also ordered the Minister to issue a permit to Erindi Ranch to allow it to import 200 elephants from South Africa. In the alternative the court declared that an agreement between Erindi and the Minister of Environment and Tourism, in terms of which it was agreed that the Ministry of Environment would sell 200 elephants to Erindi at a price of N$20 000 per animal, is valid.There are already 16 elephants at Erindi, but given the game reserve’s size of about 65 000 hectares, these animals are often difficult to find so that they can be viewed by Erindi’s guests, the court was informed in an affidavit filed on behalf of the game reserve.In the affidavit it is claimed that more than N$200 million has been invested in Erindi to date, with plans to invest an additional N$180 million in the medium term. The court was informed that Erindi tried during 2009 to obtain an import permit that would have allowed it to translocate 200 elephants from a South African game reserve, Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, to Erindi.Sabi Sand, which is located next to South Africa’s Kruger National Park, is facing an overpopulation of the pachyderms, and offered to give the 200 elephants to Erindi free of charge, the court was told.The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, however informed Erindi in August 2009 that an import moratorium had been in place since April 1 2009.Erindi is claiming that during a meeting on January 14 last year Shangula agreed that the Ministry of Environment would instead sell 200 elephants to Erindi at a price of N$20 000 per animal.By September last year, though, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, informed Erindi that the deal would not go ahead, as in her opinion it would not be in the national interest to sell ‘such a number of the national herd’ to a private entity. Nandi-Ndaitwah suggested that Erindi could instead lease the elephants from Government.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.