Tobie in the pound seats

NAMIBIA Wildlife Resorts Managing Director Tobie Aupindi was last week given a pay raise – up to N$1,674 million a year, or N$140 000 a month – in spite of mounting evidence of massive financial losses at the State-owned resort operator.

According to well-placed sources, the massive pay increase, which now sees Aupindi rake in nearly four times what Permanent Secretaries earn, was approved at last week’s Cabinet meeting on the recommendation of the NWR Board.Aupindi did not respond to e-mailed and texted requests for comment over the weekend. In spite of the NWR not issuing any annual public financial report to the National Assembly in the 10 years of its existence, evidence is mounting of massive financial losses at the company. Records show that shortly after Aupindi was appointed as MD on April 20 2006, the NWR received a ‘final’ bailout of N$27 million from Government.Aupindi insisted that the losses were simply ‘on paper’, as NWR’s balance sheet did not include their fixed assets, which he insisted had not yet been transferred from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.Aupindi, in an interview in June, denied that the company was struggling financially, but confirmed that they borrowed N$60 million from Old Mutual’s Medina Fund. The NWR had only drawn on about half of the N$120 million loan facility, underwritten by Government, which is available to them, he said.The NWR has now also acknowledged that they received a further cash transfer of N$70 million from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s Development Fund between December 20 2007 and March 18 2008.On April 20 2007, Tourism Minister Willem Konjore announced a N$75 million fund to be used for upgrading veterinary services and to assist community-based conservancies.In two separate letters – dated December 20 2007 and March 18 2008 – Permanent Secretary Kalumbi Shangula’s deputy, E Akuenje, and now-retired Director of Tourism, A Mieze, notified Aupindi of the transfers of N$51 million and N$19 million respectively.’This letter serves to inform you that N$51 million will be transferred to your company’s account. The funds must be kept save (sic) until you receive written guidance from MET Management on the utilization of it,’ Akuenje wrote in December 2007. The letter from Mieze, dated March 18 2008, carried the same instructions.NWR spokesman Najeeb Khan, in an e-mail exchange two weeks ago, said the N$70 million had been used for operational expenses, but insisted that explanations for this be obtained from MET. Aupindi claimed that none of the State resorts and other assets were ever transferred to them from the MET as provided for under Section 8 of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Company Act of 1998.Aupindi was adamant that without assets, no company could ever show a profit.All 20 MET properties – except those over which the Water Resource Management Act of 2004 take legal precedence (Popa Falls, Waterberg, Von Bach, Hardap and Ai-Ais) – were however transferred to NWR on August 31 2007 by way of Government Gazette No 3900.Proclamation 161, issued on behalf the MET Minister stated: ‘In terms of Section 8(1) of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Company Act, 1998 (Act No. 3 of 1998), I determine 31 August 2007 as the effective date of transfer referred to in that subsection from which the title, rights and interest in the immovable property described on the attached schedule are transferred to the Namibia Wildlife Resorts Company.’It was however not immediately clear if a certificate for each property has been issued by the Minister, as provided for under Sections (4) and (5) of the NWRC Act.NWR spokesman Khan subsequently wrote that Proclamation 160 amounted only to the intention to transfer but that MET ‘has not complied with as yet with other issues’ such as the signing the transfer agreement before the Registrar of Deeds.’NWR is waiting for the appointment to sign the transfer agreement,’ Khan wrote.Khan also clarified that the NWR currently employed 766 workers after Aupindi, in an earlier interview, claimed 900 NWR employees were retrained as part of his ‘turnaround strategy’.Where and how they are employed is not clear, though: the seven resorts handed over to the Swapo-linked companies (as set out in Friday’s The Namibian) are still run by MET staff, who receive money and issue receipts on behalf of the new concessionaires Tungeni Africa and Prosperity Africa.’We are responsible for running NWR and not parks that MET manages and runs,’ Khan wrote before refusing to answer further questions.Asked why the NWR has not been able to produce any annual financial reports since 2006, when Aupindi said he started upgrading its IT systems to provide ‘real-time’ financial information, Khan denied that new computers had anything to do with their tardy financial reporting.’All the outstanding Annual Financial Statements (AFS) will be discussed and approved at the shareholders meeting scheduled for the 30th of September 2009,’ Khan said.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist.