The privatisation of government forestry assets in Mpumalanga, South Africa, has been hit by the competition commission’s decision to block the Bonheur consortium from acquiring the Komatiland Forests.
The commission vetoed a deal on the grounds that competition would be hurt in the sawn timber market. It also cited significant public interest concerns.
The decision is the second time in two years a sale of the Komatiland assets has been refused by the commission. A previous deal with Zama Resources failed due to allegations about key government officials being influenced in appointing Zama as the preferred bidder.
Bonheur’s bid would have forced many small independent sawmillers to close, with the loss of about 2,000 jobs, the commission said. It would have given Bonheur a 75.2% share of the upstream market production of softwood saw logs in Mpumalanga, while its downstream national market would have reached about 15.4%.
