Kruger National Park: Be Careful of what We may Lose

[Richprins]

WORST CASE CONSEQUENCES:


1. Monies are paid over to SANParks as private companies take over Camps. Billions of Rands over a certain period, probably quite long-term in terms of installments, but short-term in terms of deals and promises.

2. These funds do indeed appear to solve all financial woes regarding the organisation, with thunderous applause. These funds disappear into the SANParks Financial "black hole", selectively audited and not including the "backhanders" and corruption that plague ALL parastatals in our country.

3. Tourists have an unpleasant surprise regarding hefty price hikes regarding accommodation (like the restaurant monopoly, sort of, but nobody is forced to go to the restaurants, which is big difference)...but bear with it in the short term. One has to have one's Kruger fix, and Mr Phillips stated that any price could be charged in Kruger, visitors will come?

4. As self-drive is eliminated region by region, most regular SA and International faithfuls slowly simply stop coming. That will happen. They will have a fit.

5. Other SA and African destinations, desperate for tourists, introduce self drive in their Parks, Farms, Lodges, Reserves quickly...simple economics.

6. OSV operators coin money in Kruger regarding their own clients linked to their own accommodation outside the Park, with an absolute monopoly now, and upper-end tourists. Who is benefiting from who?


More to come....

[nan]

Alf you can drive an open vehicule and take all of us ... only all of us

[Alf]

But only then i will have to charge for my services............

Thinking about it, we can then drive the no entry roads and enter the park earlier and leave later

[Scipio]

Ok, so Kruger might turn into a bundle of concessions, no selfdrive, and the selected OSV' companies serve the non selfdrive into the Park. I think what these OSV companies should think about is how long will it take before the concession holders will have their own OSV's, therefore they also losing Kruger (Now is that the correct term as per the name of this thread. I think so)

These OSV companies must realise that they are only there to make this change/taking of Kruger from the owners(That is us, the people that supported, paid tax, loved and cherished Kruger all these years) easier for SANParks and then lose it all.

Thinking back on another Parastatal in wich Mr. Phillips was involved, it was less than 30 Days from rumour to actual sell to private companies.........

[Flutterby]

Scary scenario!

[Richprins]

MORE CONSEQUENCES:


1. As the focus shifts away from regular self-drive tourists, even just in the South, they abandon both Kruger and the OSV-linked lodges that are part of the monopoly.

2. Local industry, highly dependant upon self-drive tourists, experience little or no clientele from OSV tourists....this ranges from the curio/wood seller next to the road leading to the gate, to the supermarket owner catering to tourists in Malelane, Hazyview, Nelspruit, White River, Komatipoort etc.

3. Lodges that do not offer the OSV service to Kruger but cater to self-drive faithfuls simply collapse, leading to thousands of job losses that make the few extra jobs created by OSV participation pale into insignificance.

[Mel]

Fits right into two of SanPark's three main goals: Poverty relief and community uplift... Not!

[Bushcraft]

Scary scenario!

Very scary

[H. erectus]

Some years back I made a statement to the effect that by rights Kruger
is a sacred wildlife vestige and that by rights us humans should really be
banned from entering. Kruger belonging to the animal kingdom!!!

When saying that I very well knew that included me first and foremost!!!
It is heading that way fast but for the curator to abuse the fact all the way
to the bank is and would be classed another story by them!!!

Hence the PDZ initiative,....this was all discussed but yah, not relevant to
the topic,...Building "hotels" so called job creators are in a sense creating
opportunity for curtailing job revenue and overheads,..elsewhere!!!!

Employment being a financial burden,..maintenance being a financial burden,
management in general just a burden, roads and infrastructure and...so a
periphery development zone, politically, financially and "ethically" would be
the answer to Sanparks,......

[Richprins]

The PDZ is entirely relevant, H. it is open to misuse, IMO!