DESPITE an environmental impact assessment not being completed, the government has given the go-ahead for the building of a hotel in the Kruger National Park.

The South African National Parks (SANParks) want to build a 119-bed Radisson Hotel in the Malelane section of the Kruger National Park.

Deputy Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said: "We see nothing contradictory in the establishment of these hotels in national parks. We already have an existing hotel in the Golden Gate National Park and even several international parks around the world have hotels."

Mabudafhasi said that if the assessment was done and it advised that they should not construct hotels, then it would be so.

The park already offers 15451 beds, of which 532 are offered by 16 concession lodges. It also has 22 restaurants and 23 shops.

A total of 4,5million people visited the park last year, with South African tourists leading with 78,1percent, of whom 24,6percent were black. Most international visitors were German (29,1percent), followed by Britons (12,4percent), Dutch (8,6percent), French (7,8percent) and Americans (6,5percent).

The park contributes at least R2billion to the gross domestic product.

Community representative Mathews Mnisi said: "You cannot divorce us from the the Kruger National Park. If it were in our hands, we would have started building (hotels) yesterday."

He represents 181 communities and 68 tribal authorities. The communities had applied for land restitution but government had ruled it could not restore the title.

SANParks chief executive David Mabunda said: "The community has a 20percent stake in the development and the income will be channelled into a community trust account for legacy projects."

There are already two hotels in South African national parks, one at Paul Kruger Gate and the other at Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the eastern Free State.

The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) said: "Based on the recent Scoping Report on the development, it must be noted that a development of this size and nature will result in significant impacts on the environment. When these impacts are to fall within South Africa's premier wildlife environment, the concerns become amplified and in order to arrive at the best decision, a thorough, open, inclusive and transparent assessment needs to be conducted.

"Wessa calls for the long-term ecologically sustainable management of our protected areas, whose value is fully accounted for and that it is adequately addressed to ensure that sound conservation is maintained."