By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK The Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) last Thursday announced the appointment of its new Managing Director Tobie Aupindi. Aupindi, 31, takes over the post with effect from April 01, 2006. Currently working for the Wilderness Safaris Group as a General Manager of Strategic Business Development: Marketing and Communications, Aupindi is a holder of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. “This is a challenging task but I will commit myself to the project. I intend to carry out my responsibilities to the best of my knowledge,” Aupindi said. Minister of Environment and Tourism, Willem Konjore indicated the parastatal has been facing problems in recent years. Some of the deficiencies that the NWR has suffered are structural, managerial and operational in nature. He said the Government could no longer stand the situation, hence the radical yet necessary steps to start the process of rehabilitating the company. Last year October, the ministry appointed its Deputy Permanent Secretary William Ndeutapo Amagulu as the interim managing director of NWR. This appointment was done on request from the Board of Directors of NWR and in consultation with the Prime Minister until the recruitment process of this position was finalised. On February 14, 2006, Konjore recommended Aupindi to Cabinet. “After the advertisements we carried out in the print media, which were followed by selections and subsequent screening and interviews and with the powers vested in me, I made a recommendation to Cabinet,” he said. The issue was then deliberated at Cabinet level and was followed by an approval with immediate effect. Konjore said the new CEO has had exposure at senior management level in the public sector while serving various Cabinet ministers. “He also has thorough knowledge of Government operations and policy frameworks such as NDP II and Vision 2030,” stated the minister. In his MBA research paper, Aupindi presents an analytical review of the tourism challenges facing Namibia. The paper further seeks to identify gaps and difficulties in tourism that may have contributed to the poor realization of the tourism objectives and how these challenges or problems should be addressed in future. This, among other things, according to the minister makes him a suitable candidate, as he understands the tourism industry. “From the Board’s side, we will assist you in your responsibilities. We will be under the able leadership of our minister who has provided together with his deputy the necessary leadership to the tourism sector to continue to grow. There is no doubt that the potential is there for this company to do well in the future,” assured the Chairperson of the NWR Board Angelina Nauta-Sinvula.