Millionaire Frustrated With Land Reform
Source: Namibia Economist (Windhoek)
Date: 20 September 2006
Author: Desie Heita
Gert Joubert, the Cape Town based multi-millionaire and owner of Erindi ranch in Windhoek, has reiterated his view that Namibia can be ranked among the top five richest countries in the world if only its land reform policy is changed to allow foreigners to buy land. "Foreigners do not want to invest if they are cannot resell the land, in which they have invested," he said.
Joubert is however a frustrated entrepreneur with, perhaps, an ambitious vision. He believes the entire Namibian country can be turned into a game reserve where lions and rhinos can roam freely. He proposes that government relaxes its land reform policy of willing-seller willing-buyer and start selling land to the highest bidder. Then foreigners will flock to have a piece on Namibia's vast open spaces, and the Ministry of Finance will rake in more than N$30 billion over night. But his most frustration lays in the fact that he has not been able to lure investors to pump money into Erindi ranch, a game reserve of 65000 hectares. He wants about N$10 billion to develop the ranch over the next 15 years. Although not providing specific figures of how much he has pumped in, so far, he says it is close to N$100 million. He has fenced off 170 kilometres with an electric fence, and introduced additional wild animals to the reserve, such as white rhino, crocodiles, and lions. The reserve is currently more of a trophy hunting farm.
Joubert said he has contacted numerous investors to partner him on the project, but the problem lay in the security. Since he is trading in land, which foreigners cannot buy, "what security can I give them?" This week he met with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Investment Centre to tell them that "if you want me to invest more [in Erindi] you go and open doors for me". Joubert said he has already been approached by a Russian entrepreneur with an offer to buy Erindi for N$100 million. He said such an offer shows that there is interest in the Namibian eco-tourism sector.
What most frustrates Joubert is the fact that he cannot borrow a loan against Erindi. "Banks are so fearful of a Zimbabwean implosion [that] their valuation of land in Namibia is low and the terms of the loans are short," he said.
If foreigners could buy land, Erindi will be worth about N$500 million and he would be able to borrow N$200 million from the banks, "because banks will feel safe and secure about their loan to me because they know that they can sell it for the highest price should I go bankrupt". Joubert has now written to Namibian parliamentarian and presented them with a book by Hernando de Soto titled 'The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else'.