The ‘selling’ of Von Bach

NAMIBA Wildlife Resorts (NWR) has leased the Von Bach recreational resort for 100 years to an empowerment company called Tungeni Africa Investments – without the NWR having the clear legal right to do so, an investigation by The Namibian has established.

The transaction apparently went through in a little-noticed deal last year.Tungeni, a company owned by two Namibian diplomats, a quantity surveying firm and two top Namibian businesswomen, now claims to own all of the previously publicly accessible areas of the Von Bach Dam, Windhoek’s main source of drinking water.Whether this amounted to an alienation of State land is not clear, a question complicated by the fact that NWR does not appear to hold any legal title to the land surrounding the Von Bach Dam. NWR MD Tobie Aupindi has so far avoided commenting on this to The Namibian. A check at the Deeds Office and other relevant official records shows that the State never transferred ownership of the Von Bach resort to the NWR, as required by Article 8 of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Company Act of 1998.Unlike the other State-owned resorts in Namibia, the Hardap and Von Bach resorts were not transferred to NWR because of NamWater’s over-riding interests in ensuring security of national water supplies, a lawyer familiar with the matter said. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGEThe deal was done in a totally transparent way, said NWR’s Marketing Manager Pauline Lindeque (see her verbatim response on page 2).The NWR took out full-page advertisements, the last published in The Namibian of August 28 2007, that it was ‘seeking partners’ to develop the Reho Spa, Shark Island, the Von Bach Campsite and the West Coast Recreational Area. The closing date was August 31 2007, and successful applicants would have to be affirmative action compliant, if applicable.The section on Von Bach was advertised thus: ‘Von Bach Game Park is about 68 kilometres from Windhoek. The focal point of activity is the dam, which is used for a variety of water sports such as water-skiing, windsurfing, yachting and boating. The facilities currently include 22 sites with basic shelters and communal ablution, and 10 campsites with braai facilities.’In July 2008, NWR announced five lucky winners, with Tungeni awarded the Von Bach resort, Namibia’s only water-skiing venue, as well the Jakkalsputz, Mile 72 and Mile 108 camping sites in the West Coast Recreational Park.At the time, NWR MD Tobie Aupindi insisted that this was not alienation of State land – but failed to mention that the lease for Von Bach was effective for 100 years.’You know we have Von Bach for the next 100 years,’ in terms of a 50-year lease, renewable for another 50 years, Tungeni MD Iyaloo Nangolo confirmed in an interview. He denied that there was anything illegal about this.LEASEHOLDSState land, at least in communal areas, is seldom leased for longer than 15 years under the Permission-to-Occupy (PTO) system, Willem Odendaal, a lawyer with the Legal Assistance Centre, told The Namibian.Leasing land for longer would render it a commercial asset that could be sold on, as with similar concessional deals in the fishing and mining industries, he explained.Permanent Secretary of Finance Calle Schlettwein said his Ministry was recently advised that 99-year leaseholds over land meant such land could no longer be reported as assets on State balance sheets.Article 8 of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Company Act (Act 3 of 1998) stipulates that ownership of all wildlife resorts had to be legally transferred to the NWR, either by way of title deed transfer or by means of publication of publishing this in the Government Gazette.The only property actually registered in the name of the NWR is Erf 1590 in Oshakati, Deeds Office records show. Government Gazette 3900 of 31 August 2007, belatedly issued to legally transfer all the wildlife resorts from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to NWR, does not include either the Von Bach or Hardap resorts.Nangolo, a partner in Windhoek-based Jordaan Oosthuyzen Nangolo Quantity Surveyors firm (JONQS), said Tungeni’s shareholders are a mix of ‘broad-based institutional, private and social party stakeholders’. Company records, however, show that 59-year-old Tonata Itenge, a former Ambassador to Sweden and now Special Advisor to Gender Equality and Child Welfare Minister Marlene Mungunda, holds 40 per cent of Tungeni’s shares. She is one of three Tungeni directors, with her business address listed as the Office of the Prime Minister’s offices in the Ministry of Trade and Industry building.Sekina Ashipala-Musavyi, Namibia’s Ambassador to Sweden, holds a further 10 per cent of Tungeni’s shares. Itenge and Ashipala-Musavyi have not filed any official written permission to participate in private business, as required in terms of Section 17 of the Public Service Act. Neither could be reached for comment at the time of going to press.Namdeb MD Inge Zaamwani holds a 10 per cent interest, as does Gida Nakazibe-Sekandi, a director of Capricorn Holdings, Bank Windhoek’s investment arm. Nangolo and his partner Stephanus Oosthuyzen in Jordaan Oosthuyzen Nangolo Quantity Surveyors (JONQS) own 15 per cent each and are in day-to-day charge of Tungeni. Nangolo confirmed Tungeni was to pay NWR N$3 million for the Von Bach resort over the first year, as well as a N$10 000 monthly rent for each of the resorts plus 10 per cent of gross turnover.Asked if they were meeting their full payment of about N$250 000 a month (N$500 000 was due upon signing of their contract, the balance from December onwards), Oosthuyzen said some payments have been deferred ‘because of the tsunami on the coast last year’ that rendered some camping sites unusable.The deal is contingent upon Tungeni investing N$450 million in developing a luxury resort consisting of a lodge, golf course, game drives, hiking trails and 240-house ‘Lifestyle Village’ at prices ranging up to N$3 million planned for the site currently occupied by the Namibia Water Ski Club.Nangolo and Oosthuyzen however conceded their agreement with NWR did not specify by when the full N$450 million would have to be invested. They are currently building ‘a boutique-type lodge’ on the northern bank, but construction of the ‘Oujere Lifestyle Village’ would only start in about 10 years’ time, they said.’We’re in this business to make a profit,’ Nangolo stated. Once the ski clubs’ leases run out in 2012, Tungeni will ‘just move in’, Oosthuyzen said.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist: 081 240 1587