Rhino king lays claim to land set aside for park

Rhino king John Hume is at the centre of a development row over land earmarked for inclusion in Table Mountain National Park.

Never shy to court controversy, the man with a stockpile of five tons of rhino horn has applied to subdivide land on the Roodeberg overlooking Noordhoek, the rest of which was incorporated into the park three years ago.

The option to subdivide was part of a sale agreement between Hume and the World Wide Fund for Nature, which raised funds to save the land from large-scale development.

About half of the R9.2-million raised was donated by the Rupert Nature Foundation, chaired by billionaire Johann Rupert.

But unbeknown to some locals, the deed of sale, at a price lower than what Hume hoped for, allowed him to apply for subdivision of five portions of the demarcated area, and to take transfer if he succeeded.

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He has now applied for sub-division, and affected neighbours are fuming. They say donors might not have agreed to the terms of the sale had they known it involved potential development.

"We never knew about it," said Vanessa Brown, whose home adjoins one of the parcels. "If donors and campaigners had been told [about the trade-off] they could have said: 'Let's see if we can get the full amount.'"

Another stakeholder wondered why Hume, whose rhino horn stockpile is potentially worth billions and who spends R3-million a month protecting about 1,400 rhino on his North West farm, could not simply forgo his subdivision rights.

Another resident questioned how some of the portions earmarked for subdivision were zoned "single residential" when the area had always been farmland. "How on earth did that arise? It does not look like it went through the right procedures," she said.

However, Hume's lawyer, Izak du Toit, said the sale price had been particularly generous, and Hume was sympathetic to the Roodeberg campaign.

The subdivision was merely a means for Hume to recoup some money after the financial loss he had suffered. When he bought the Roodeberg land, it was touted as a potential "wildlife estate" with 40 stands.

"There would have been stands cut right up the mountain," Du Toit said, adding that 99% (242ha) had been sold to the park. "One percent of that area is an extremely small price to pay [to clinch the deal]."

He said the conditions of sale had been transparent.

Hume bought the property in 2003 when it was a defunct game reserve, called Solole, used for a disease-free buffalo breeding project. It never took off.

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After trying to auction the land, Hume agreed to sell it for around R20-million. A team led by WWF beat him down to less than half that, but agreed to the subdivision rights "at his own risk".

WWF South Africa CEO Morné du Plessis insisted this week that the subdivision clause was to secure the best deal. "To secure this land at a cost-effective price, the seller was given the right to apply for a subdivision (at their own risk) of a small portion of previously degraded land (half a hectare) on the urban edge, which had pre-existing single residential development rights."

He conceded that details of the sale were not publicised. "The finer details of the negotiations with property owners were not explicitly outlined only because these matters are usually subject to confidentiality. The land affected by the subdivision is less than a quarter of a percent of the total, which means that 99.8% of this previously unsecured land is now under conservation management of SANParks [South African National Parks]. We regard this as a significant conservation achievement."

SANParks spokeswoman Merle Collins said Hume's subdivision application still needed approval. "The current application is for this purpose and needs to run its course for the city to consider its merits and process accordingly."

A spokesman for the Rupert Nature Foundation referred queries to WWF. The other major charitable donors could not be reached for comment.

jordanb@sundaytimes.co.za