Sexwale is buying Mozambican island!

Island life: Quilálea Island Resort, part of Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago, which billionaire Tokyo Sexwale is buying for an undisclosed sum — but which is likely to cost tens of millions of rands based on the asking price for other exclusive properties in the area.

Billionaire Tokyo Sexwale is in the process of splurging on a Mozambican island resort.
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Sexwale’s office declined to comment on his purchase of the 35ha Quilálea Island Resort, nestled in a “forgotten corner” of Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago, a group of coral islands in northern Mozambique.
Hoteliers John and Marjolaine Hewlett, who founded the Quilálea Island Resort in November 2002, could not be reached for comment on the deal either.
Last year Sexwale, the 55-year old chairman of investment and mining group Mvelaphanda, forked out a reported R56-million for a mansion in Sandhurst, northern Johannesburg.
According to websites advertising exclusive getaways on the island, the secluded resort boasts nine private villas, and is billed as a “a genuine haven of luxury and beauty”.
The villas, made of stone and makuti thatch, have verandas with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. Each air-conditioned villa features indigenous teak and mahogany furniture.
According to an online reservation system, daily rates for the villas range from $540 to $11,780 (R4,320 to R94,240).
Although the rates include meals, house wines, local beers, bottled water and snorkelling equipment, guests are charged extra for activities ranging from 20-minute helicopter rides (R1,120 per person) to big game deep-sea fishing trips (R5,280 for eight hours).
According to Private Islands Inc, a Canadian estate agency that sells islands around the world, foreigners cannot own freehold land in Mozambique.
“The government grants land-use concessions for up to 50 years with options to renew,” it says.
Quilálea is remote and doesn’t even have a landing strip. Visitors need to charter an aircraft to the neighbouring island of Quirimba, and then take a 15-minute boat trip to Quilálea.
In July, the resort’s management issued a statement disputing claims that the hotel had been bought by a “well known international group”.
But now it appears that Sexwale made the Hewletts — owners of the Arquipelagos das Quirimbas, the company that the hotel is registered under — an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Although reportedly far wealthier, the Sunday Times annual Rich List — which ranked Sexwale as the country’s 20th richest individual — shows the billionaire’s shareholding in several companies is worth R1.3-billion.
Pam Golding Properties’ Tara Whiting said Mozambique was attracting “the well-heeled at the upper end of the economic scale”.
“Recently we’ve been seeing heightened interest in Mozambique... with a prime, beachfront leisure home increasingly becoming a sought-after acquisition among the moneyed set.”
Pambele island, which is close to Quilálea, is on the market for £2.3-million (R34-million).
Pambele is on Pam Golding Properties’ books and is located on the northern tip of the San Sebastion Peninsula in northern Mozambique.
The 8426m² property boasts four thatched villas and a central building with a bar and dining room.
“The owner of Pambele also acquires co-ownership of a 30,000ha sanctuary (the privately owned Vilanculos Coastal Wildlife Sanctuary) which is ranked among the top biodiversity hot spots in Africa,” said Whiting.
Pam Golding Hospitality managing director Joop Demes said: “There is no doubt that Mozambique is rapidly closing the gap with the other famous Indian Ocean destinations such as the Seychelles, the Maldives and Mauritius.” — Simpiwe Piliso