Ted Reilly’s speach for HMK’s launch of the new Hlane developments - facility upgrades and the largest solar panel system in Swaziland

BAYETE!

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Honourable Ministers, Tikhulu takangwane, Members of Parliament, Honourable Diplomatic Excellencies and Friends.

I feel blessed to be addressing our Ngwenyama and our Ndlovokazi, our honourable leadership, and friends, on this occasion when we are able to demonstrate beyond all possible doubt that nature conservation can be a self sustaining asset of this Kingdom. 

50 years ago, in 1960, my friends all told me my pursuit of wildlife conservation as a career was an impossible dream.  But miracles do happen, and I believe achieving the self sustainability of Big Game Parks is one of these miracles.  By announcing this, I am not inviting anyone to “share in the spoils” because there are no spoils!  Nature Conservation is a very expensive undertaking which requires absolute financial discipline to make it work and all profits are needed to sustain and to develop it.

There is a sector of armchair conservationists riding a bandwagon who are full of academic ideas advocating for nature conservation to lift communities from poverty.  The question is how on earth can conservation be expected to do so when Governments with national budgets and the United Nations itself are unable to lift people from poverty?  It is a pipedream!  And a dangerous one, because promises made which create expectations that cannot possibly materialise, have a habit of turning sour.

Having said this, nature conservation can certainly contribute to poverty alleviation by providing jobs, attracting foreign exchange from tourists, and creating a host of multiplier benefits from the ripple effects of conservation activities.  But any profits that may accrue are needed to pay staff, to develop the conservation product and to maintain it.  And there is certainly never enough left over to do it all – let alone to sustain any leakage or parasites.

But this miracle of self-sustaining conservation could not possibly have happened without the support and encouragement of two Heads of State who provided an enabling environment for the protection of nature at a time when everyone just wanted to destroy it - and this to me is the luckiest miracle of all for Swaziland’s wildlife, and for Swaziland.

His Majesty King Sobhuza II made the beginnings of nature conservation possible and his successor His Majesty King Mswati III endorsed and enhanced this enabling environment to heights that no other Head of State the world over has ever done.  Without these two Kings, supported by Ndlovukazi Dzeliwe and then by our Ndlovukazi Ntombi, those early efforts at conserving Swaziland’s wildlife heritage would have remained an impossible dream; and wildlife tourists to Swaziland would simply have passed us by because there would not be a single wild animal left in the Kingdom today.  Had the Swazi Monarchy not so strongly identified with Swaziland’s need for conserving the Kingdom’s wildlife over the years, there can be no doubt that Swaziland today would be void of wildlife. 

It has not been easy restoring the wildlife of Swaziland, and there have been huge hurdles to overcome.  The rhino war of 1988/92 ended with almost 80% of Swaziland’s rhinos dead.  The King saved our rhinos from going extinct for the 2nd time by mandating the Game Amendment Act and then ratifying it after it passed through Parliament – in spite of its being petitioned against by the law society.  Now Swaziland remains the one and only rhino range state in Africa that has not lost a single rhino to poaching since 1992 – a full 17 years, since the Game Amendment Act came into force and began being applied by the rangers of Big Game Parks.  In South Africa already this year, more than 50 rhinos are known to have been poached.  

Politics, commercial interests, and jealousies caused by lost dollar opportunities of international travel, are also among the hurdles we have had to cross and this has caused endless frustrations, unnecessary delays, and much hurt.  The more practical hurdles of catching a poacher, or a rhino, or a buffalo, or even an elephant, are far more manageable than dealing with unhelpful politicians and greedy commercial interests.

It may surprise some of you to know that as large a threat as poaching still is, and probably always will be, it is no longer the greatest threat to wildlife.  The greatest threat to wildlife now is corruption!  Internal theft, embezzlement and white collar crime have now overtaken poaching to be wildlife’s - and nature conservation’s - most dangerous threat, followed closely by unplanned human sprawl – for as far as human settlements advance without controlled planning, nature dies.  Poaching actually pales in significance against these two growing threats.  There is only one way to combat corruption, and that is to meet it head-on with a zero tolerance for crime.  And this too, has its problems because disciplining internal crime invariably ends with industrial action where thieves and embezzlers too often get rewarded for their malpractices with huge sums of money for what the law determines as unfair dismissal because of legal technicalities.  It is like a double payment.  They get to keep the money they have stolen and then they get rewarded for stealing it! 

Employers provide jobs. And not all employers are bad people.  How can they be if employment is a national priority?  Creating jobs is one of Swaziland’s most important priorities, but it is not an attractive proposition being an employer in the present climate.    Parliament is urged to recognise this and make Swaziland more attractive to employers, because without employers, there will be no jobs.  That is the reality.  The question is often asked: who is more important?    One employer providing 100 jobs, or 100 jobless employees all with families to feed and medical fees and school fees to pay?  Unless such unpopular questions are addressed, investment will vanish, institutions will reduce and the problems of poverty and crime will grow – unless of course international donors can be persuaded to sustain their handouts!  And this is highly unlikely!  Even in conservation, these are the difficult realities we have to live with, and realities are often very different from theories and ideals.  Politicians should be brave enough to tackle this unpopular employment problem and balance legislation to enforce equal fairness for employers, few of whom are legal experts and many of whom are decent people, in order to prevent insolvencies, disinvestment and job loss.

Having said this, Big Game Parks employs more then 300 people, and I can honestly say I am proud of them all.  I am grateful to all my staff for their loyalty to King and country, and for their commitment to duty, for they are all essential contributors to the success and sustainability of Big Game Parks.  The King’s game rangers also put their lives on the line every day in defence of your heritage, and they are to be highly commended.

In addition, I would like to thank our security forces – the Royal Swazi Police and the Defence Force, for their help with anti poaching, and also for keeping our country safe.

The new developments being officially opened today by His Majesty, namely the upgrade of the reception facility, the restaurant and dining facilities, and also, I believe, the largest solar power system in Swaziland, were paid for entirely from the self generated revenues of Hlane Royal National Park.  There is no donor money or Government money in these developments.  All that you see here has been generated from tourism, trading receipts, game sales, and interest from the investments from right of way revenue from Simunye Sugar Company, and ALL money generated is ploughed back into the park with absolutely NO sideways movement!

Here I must thank my daughter Ann, Nonhlangano, for she was the driving force behind this development.

And this brings me to the popular buzzword of self-sustainability.  It is vital that the business of nature conservation is based on self sustainability.  Nature conservation is always one of the first to suffer budget cuts in times of economic hardship, and being as expensive as it is to operate, it always is at risk in the public sector if it is not self sustaining.  My very strong belief after 50 years of practical conservation is that if wildlife is to survive in Africa, it will be under the delegated custodianship of the private sector (with proper accountability) where it simply HAS to be self sustaining, or it dies.  Across the continent where the private sector is supported and encouraged, nature conservation is flourishing while in the public sector it is sadly in decline.  The international industrialist and world conservation figure, Dr Anton Rupert once said; Government will not get up at 3 in the morning to tend a sick cow – but the owner of the cow will!

His Majesty, King Mswati leads the world in his support for the private sector in conservation by having provided, as his father did before him, the enabling environment for the private sector to succeed in the important business of nature conservation.  The expanding concept of nature conservancies and game farming in Swaziland is real evidence of this and is to be encouraged so that the last remaining intact natural areas of Eswatini may be protected and conserved.

Major Ian Grimwood, an awardee of the much-coveted Paul Getty Conservation prize, once said: “The wildlife of Africa has not been saved for the world by Governments or Committees, but by a handful of individuals”.  The truth of this statement is emphasised by His Majesty King Mswati III and his father before him, being two such individuals who have been personally responsible for the survival of Swaziland’s wildlife. 

Traditionally and culturally the King has always been the custodian of the Kingdom’s wildlife and, in Swaziland, it is under the Monarchy that wildlife has flourished.  And it is also under the direction, encouragement and support of the King that cost effective, self sustainable conservation has developed.  The question is often asked: “would there be a single wild animal left in Swaziland today had it been left to government to save it?”  Yet there have been ceaseless attempts to have the King’s Office dispossessed of its responsibilities for the Game Act and for CITES.  Even now, these attempts persist under camouflage in proposed new legislation, aimed at subordinating the responsibilities of the King’s Office and lessening its authority over nature conservation.  Yet it has been under the direction of the Head of State that conserving Swaziland’s wildlife has been successful over a time-tested period of nearly 50 years.  I honestly do believe that if ever the Office of the Head of State was to relinquish its responsibility as National Custodian of nature conservation, Swaziland would immediately risk losing her wildlife for the third time!  It is entirely correct that the legislation protecting our wildlife and wild places resides – and remains – in the Office of the Kingdom’s Highest Authority.  All of us who passionately value our wildlife and wilderness areas, are truly grateful that His Majesty has taken direct and active responsibility for safeguarding this vital component of Swaziland’s natural heritage.  What is more is that this Royal priority and the success it has achieved, is the envy of conservation agencies across Africa.

And this brings me to the values of wilderness to mankind -
King Sobhuza once said words to this effect: “We must preserve from our culture, and take from other cultures what is good for Swazis and discard what is bad from both.” 

Wilderness is good; and it is now so scarce in Swaziland that it has become priceless because the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes.  Once you introduce a manmade structure into a wilderness landscape, it is no longer a wilderness.  Its wilderness qualities are immediately destroyed by that structure, be it a road, a powerline, a telephone tower or a building.  You don’t preserve an impala by eating it!

Wilderness is precious.  It is sensitive, inviting, attractive and it is spiritually healing.  A Swazi once said to me, “If ever you are sick and the doctors can’t heal you, come to this place and it will make you better.”  She was in the middle of a wilderness, surrounded by nature when she said these words!  Even Christ turned to the wilderness for help when he was in trouble, more than 2000 years ago.

My plea to Parliament is to provide practical protection for wilderness.  I stress practical protection because academic protection has a history of failure.  Future generations of Swazis and international tourists have a need to enjoy raw nature in its truest form, and wilderness provides this.

The Sikhupe Airport is due for commissioning in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.  Big Game Parks endorses everything initiated by our King, together with the hope that the airport will bring great benefits for tourism in Swaziland.  Hlane in particular, is close enough to be the first to benefit.  The airport authorities, it is hoped, will acquaint themselves with the priceless value of Hlane to national tourism, and be cogniscent that one of Hlane’s greatest values is the unique conservation status it holds in supporting the highest density of tree nesting vultures (eMangce) anywhere in the world.  Hlane is also Swaziland’s premier support base for raptors, which would not be here if Hlane was elsewhere.

We hope that the authorities will be sensitive as to how the contradictions of aircraft and vultures and other raptors can be reconciled, and that they will remember what King Sobhuza had to say when Machobane proposed the culling of surplus game on Hlane some 30 years ago.  King Sobhuza said, “Machobane, when you have killed the game and sold it, what will the vultures eat, and what will the hyeanas eat?”  King Sobhuza’s concerns would be wise to remember.

The Kingdom of Swaziland has so much going for it.  It is a beautiful country.  It is rich in biodiversity and it is, once again, rich in wildlife.  22 species, which went locally extinct during Colonial rule, including lion and elephant and rhino and giraffe and buffalo, have been restored to Swaziland by the Private Sector with the King’s never-failing support. 

Tourists love this Kingdom, often rating their visit here as the highlight of their southern African trip.  Swaziland is peaceful and stable, and gives a feeling of safety to tourists, and most tourists come here to witness nature and the unique Swazi culture.   Of gratifying relevance too, is the fact that over 50% of Big Game Parks attendance is by local Swazis showing their growing appreciation for the recreational and spiritual values of nature conservation.

Finally, I would like to thank Your Majesties, the Swazi National Council and the entire Swazi Nation for affording me and my family the opportunity and the privilege of living in and serving Swaziland in the field of nature conservation.  As a family, we appreciate that there is no better place on earth to grow up and live in , than this beautiful Kingdom of eSwatini.

Bayete, wena wa Phakati!