Drakensberg Cable Car

Coeta wrote: (I am personally against the project for various reasons, but indulge me a sec...)

What would be your stance on this project if:
1. A fair and impartial environmental impact assessment shows no more damage to the environment than what is acceptable for a certain area up to the limit for a build project of this size.
2. Think of table mountain and what the cableway have done for tourism there. Based on the table mountain example you can reasonably expect the following to happen at the berg:
- extensive hiking paths in the day-hike range vicinity up top.
- at least 2 or 3 popular hiking routes to walk up to the caleway station; or ride up and walk down.
- shops opening at both ends of the cableway
3. Alternate job opportunities for the local basotho people, maybe as guides with the top cableway station as basecamp with an "office".
4. Possible MCSA office up top (meaning the upper cableway station).
5. Emergency services up top.
6. Enhanced safety due to better controls and presence, maybe even better cell\radio reception.
7. What if the whole cableway endeavour (see what I did there?) actually becomes financially viable and is managed properly and responsibly?

(I have deliberately excluded the corruption potential from the above equation, we all know a back pocket will be lined in some way or form here. But even so, what if the project turn out to be successful?)

This will drive a lot of hiking traffic to the berg. Is this a bad thing?

Fair questions.

The idea of a Drakensberg cableway has been around for some 20 years and one of the major hurdles it has always faced is the viability. It is a major expense (and I think the chances of it costing more than R500m are extremely high, and not all costs have been taken into consideration anyway). The running costs of a cableway are also very high. From my understanding Table Mountain's cable car took many years before it actually become profitable. The Magaliesberg one was even closed for a few years because of a number of accidents due to it needing repair. If I were to invest in such an expensive project I would want the chances of success to be reasonably high and I would make a point of listening to what people have to say. As it is the adamant approach shown in this whole thing, shutting out all those who raise concern, is a major warning light to me.

The cable car proposal has to be understood in its true context: it is part of the KZN Tourism Master Plan which is being driven at a government level to boost ailing tourism in the province. It is not a plan which has the good of the Berg directly in mind as much as it is an attempt to boost figures for the entire province. There are in fact other projects which are also part of this plan, such as the building of a giant statue of King Shaka. All of them are aimed at creating new attractions to attract visitors.

When the Berg was awarded its World Heritage Status it was given with the stipulation that the gap between RNNP and Cathedral Peak should one day be closed by formalised conservation of this gap, which is to be worked out between the AmaZizi, the AmaNgwane and KZN Wildlife. This is even mentioned in Unesco's Outstanding Universal Value of the Park. The status was awarded on the basis of the pristine natural worth of the Berg as well as the cultural heritage of the rock art. A major management approach and ethic in the Drakensberg Park is one of wilderness, which is free of man-made structures. This is a major oversight in the proposal, even though the proposers may argue that there are other heritage sites where such structures exist. Unesco has yet to approve the proposal, if they ever will, and it is interesting that they had to approach the SA government to get clarity about what as going on, according to one of their reports, instead of the other way round. As it is, many of the AmaZizi themselves do not want it. The AmaZizi royal family and the AmaZizi Wilderness Group have unequivocally stated that they do not want it and that they have clear and well developed plans to manage the area as a community managed nature reserve with a wilderness area. They have identified two sites outside of this area which are more suitable for the development of tourism related structures. These plans are all in line with Unesco's stipulations. Highly significant is that these two groups have been repeatedly shunned and ignored in this whole process by the proposers. And the latter is in fact the formally appointed body to manage such affairs on behalf of the AmaZizi.

There is also the question as to whether the escarpment can actually handle this amount of traffic (which, it is said, even has to consistently grow annually from the initial 300 000). One of the motivations for the cable car mentioned in the feasibility study was that the hikers are causing erosion in the Berg. Of course, hikers will not stop hiking the Berg elsewhere just because there is a cable car, and the environmental damage evident from the top of the Chain Ladders to Tugela Falls alone is a major red light that the escarpment cannot handle the traffic. Even the feasibility study admits that "careful management" will be needed on the escarpment because of the visitor numbers - and this is in fact what the solution is for the Berg - careful management, and not a cable car.

Not even the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has realistically helped uplift Lesotho, so while its easy to argue the benefit the cable car may have for Lesotho - the track record indicates that we should have more conservative expectations. And I think South Africa has a very long road to walk in demonstrating the capability of responsibly and properly managing such a complex, expensive and consequential project. As it is the track record in managing much more basic and essential things is dismal.

Article in the Times, May 24. I didn't have any response to a query about the conference from the two different people in the department responsible for it - which is the typical trend. The departmental spokesperson Bheko Madlala does not respond either - I see he has been ignoring the journalists too lately from the remarks written in the recent articles.