The book captures Fred Daniel’s side of the story in the battle for the survival of the fittest in an area nestled at the foot of Mpumalanga’s mountainous views.
The story of eco-tourist businessman Fred Daniel is now out in a book written by South African author Rehana Rossouw, titled Predator Politics.
The 244-page paperback hit the book shelves in October 2020 and sells at R290 a copy. It is published by Jacana Media.
Rossouw writes about Daniel’s battles with Mpumalanga civil servants and politicians while he ran his eco-tourism business in the Badplaas and Barberton areas.
Daniel is currently at the Tshwane High Court suing the Mpumalanga government just over R1 billion for profits lost while politicians allegedly sabotaged his Nkomazi Wilderness project in the area, refusing to give him permits over issues of land claims.
ALSO SEE: Fred Daniel talks about lost opportunities
Predator Politics, subtitled ‘Mabuza, Fred Daniel and the Great Land Scam’, is actually a book about the politics of Badplaas – involving the clash between white landowners and marginalised black dwellers who want the piece of the land.
Rossouw’s book is the product of the financial support she received from the Henry Nxumalo Grant.
The Grant is funded by the Millennium Trust and is managed by the University of Wits’ Journalism Department.
Rossouw says she dedicates it to media practitioners “who tell stories that hold the political mafia to account”.
“It is dedicated to all the journalists who tell stories that hold the political mafia to account,” she wrote in the preface.
Predator Politics covers Daniel’s battle since arriving in the Barberton and Badplaas areas in 1998, buying close to 100 parcels of farmland and turning them into a safari lodge.
The project’s revenue prospects were harmed when Daniel and politicians began clashing over the land he was buying.
ALSO SEE: Fred Daniel’s house protected by cops on the night he got tipped of assassination
Rossouw has a master’s degree in creative writing from Wits and has written various works, like the novel What Will People Say.
(edited by MLM)
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