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Pretoria (pte046/17.06.2003/15:18) - Wildlife parks in southern Africa are headed for privatisation as governments focus more on problems such as AIDS, poverty and education. Dutch billionaire Paul van Vlissingen is convinced there is neither enough money nor know-how to continue running parks in Sambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenia and Mozambique, and has proposed to take over their management.
According to BBC-Online, Vlissingen came up with the idea to privatise the parks http://news.bbc.co.uk . As early as 1998 he conceived of the foundation of a multinational group, which would include the US State Department, the World Bank, NGOs, private investors and former president Nelson Mandela himself. Vlissingen met with Mandela to discuss the idea.
Vlissingen, who runs a trade chain and is known to be an environmentalist, has argued that many of the national parks are being run without supervision and management, which makes it hard to control poaching. Many of the park rangers earn too little and therefore do not take the necessary measures to protect the wildlife, said Vlissingen. He said he would personally oversee the management and structured operations of the new company.
Vlissingen admits his ideas can seem radical and provoke controversy. He has already faced criticism from the political opposition in Sambia where Livingstone MP Sakwiba Sikota expressed fears that residents of the region would lose control over their land. Vlissingen has promised that most of the money earned by the wildlife corporation would remain in Africa.
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