Khulu Phasiwe

Public Policy Correspondent

COMMUNITY land claims against cash-strapped state-owned holiday resort company Aventura are hampering finalising sales contracts and transfer of land to Forever Siyonwaba, the consortium that won the right to manage the firm’s resorts.

As a result of the land dispute, government still owns the resorts, but has handed over management to the consortium.

The transaction was scheduled to have been sealed in December last year, but was delayed by land claims lodged by Mpumalanga and Limpopo communities living around the resorts concerned, Badplaas in Mpumalanga and Tshipise in Limpopo.

Aventura said claims in respect of two other resorts, Gariep and Plettenberg, have been settled.

A public enterprises department document, an analysis of the financial performance of state-owned enterprises, says the initial mandate of the Aventura board was the disposal of the eight remaining resorts “in the shortest possible period”.

The document, released in April, gives the reason for the disposal as being “not self-sustainable and therefore a liability to government”.

“Aventura is trading as technically insolvent as their liabilities are exceeding their assets. However, they are not deemed to be commercially insolvent as they have signed contract with Forever Resorts SA for the selling of remaining eight resorts,” the document says.

Forever Resorts SA, which owns a 70% in the consortium, is a subsidiary of US-based Forever Resorts.

The public enterprises department said Aventura had been technically insolvent since 2001.

Aventura originally had 15 resorts, but sold the first seven between 2001 and 2003 for R55m. The remaining eight were sold in June 2003 to one buyer, Forever Siyonwaba, for R200m, and a special dividend of R15m paid to the treasury.

A further dividend will be paid as soon as full payment is received.

Forever Siyonwaba has undertaken to take over Aventura’s R54,9m liabilities and not retrench employees for three years after the signing of the agreement.

Aventura MD Kobus Tait said yesterday talks were continuing with communities to resolve the land issue, and he was confident that the matter would be settled.