Windhoek
Namibia Wildlife Resorts says a recent article in The Namibian regarding the state of one of its flagship establishments, the Namutoni Fort in the Etosha National Park, is contrary to what is taking place there. “It is with great dismay that Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) read the article that appeared in The Namibian newspaper on January 26, 2016. The article with the heading “Tourist complains of ‘worst holiday’ at Etosha” is contrary to what is taking place at the Namutoni Fort,” said NWR’s spokesperson, Mufaro Nesongano.
“It is for this reason that NWR wishes to bring clarity on the status of the fort with the view to enlightening the public as to the plans NWR has. Over the years the fort has undergone some changes in order to make it more appealing to domestic and international visitors. It was one of the reasons that the NWR management after extensive consultations with our stakeholders saw the need to close the fort to public access. We are therefore appealing to the public to give us time to roll out the plan that we have for the fort and Namutoni as a whole. During the rollout of the plan we will continue updating our stakeholders on progress achieved,” said Nesongano.
He continued that NWR has already completed part of the plan, through the replacement of the wooden decks with interlocks that are more cost effective and have also returned the parking areas next to the bungalows.
“We envision in the upcoming months to relocate some of the accommodation facilities back to the fort as was the case in the past, once renovations are entirely completed. We also are in the process of replacing the wooden deck at the view point as we deem it unsafe,” he added.
Epson Kasuto, the NWR chief marketing officer, said: “We are aware of the fact that we inherited some establishments that were not initially meant for tourist purposes, though we have done well as a company to rehabilitate them with the little that we have. We therefore appeal to the public and the media to be cautious of reporting information that might be detrimental to the positive image we have been working so hard to rebuild in order to regain their confidence. We are always willing and open to engage fairly with the media on concerns they are not sure about for the goodness of the public who are ultimately our shareholder through the Namibian government.”