Cybele Forest Lodge and Health Spa near Hazyview, Mpumalanga, will close its doors on Sunday, November 17.
Director Rupert Jefferies said the closure followed a land claim by the Manzimhlophe Community.
The lodge and 120 hectares of forestry land were purchased by the government on behalf of the community. However, Jefferies said, the government did not facilitate a hand-over of the lodge and the community would inherit an empty lodge, adding that the lodge was likely to become derelict in a very short space of time.
“We requested meetings, engagements and commitments from them in respect of a suitable and efficient hand-over of the hotel, and a further purchase of all hotel fittings and moveable assets prior to the finalisation of the sale agreement between us and the government almost a year ago,” said Jefferies. “None of this effort yielded any result.” He said attempts by government to find a strategic partner to run the lodge with the community had faltered.
Jefferies said government had failed the community and that 45 staff would be deprived of their livelihoods and income.
