Erindi negotiations resume

An urgent application brought by the owners of Erindi game reserve against the minister of land reform was cut short when government attorneys handed over critical documents minutes before proceedings began. The urgent application was submitted to the High Court shortly after 14:00 on Thursday, in an attempt to force the Ministry of Land Reform to provide a detailed valuation report to Erindi’s owner, a request government has ignored since April. Following the exchange of the long-awaited documents on Thursday, Judge Collins Parker postponed the case until 27 October. Meanwhile, negotiations between the government and the owners of Erindi resumed on Friday, in an attempt to either agree on a selling price or to issue a waiver certificate. Court documents show the Joubert family wants the government’s explicit consent to sell the property to a “foreigner”.