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Home / Windhoek Country Club’s asset base grew to N$329 million
Windhoek Country Club’s asset base grew to N$329 million
2017-09-21Staff Report 2 Albertina Nakale Windhoek-The asset base of Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino grew of the company from N$174 million in 2009 to N$329 million in 2016 under the management of the current board. This was revealed by Environment and Tourism Deputy Minister Tommy Nambahu yesterday when he re-appointed the previous board to serve for three more years due to their outstanding performance over the past few years. The members of the board that were re-appointed are chairperson Sven Thieme, deputy chair Clara Bohitile, Alec Douglas Boois and Terttu Nuuyuni. The term of office for the previous board expired on March 31 and was extended to May 31 before the new board was then appointed on June 1. Inaugurating the new board, Nambahu praised them for turning Windhoek Country Club from a financially crippled entity into a dividend-paying state-owned enterprise (SOE). “The ministry assessed and found the performance of the current board commendable. The ministry has recognised the board of directors’ proven records of experience and expertise in the private sector,” Nambahu noted. He said the company achieved a gross operating profit of N$42 million in 2016, just short of the set target of N$65 million for 2016. He praised the board for showing commitment and hard work to improve and turn around the financial position of the company from N$151 million negative equity and liability position in 2009 to N$315 million in the black by 2016. Nambahu said Windhoek Country Club, despite the challenges, achieved high profit margins over the past five years and continues to maintain its assets in good condition. Therefore, he was convinced the board would continue to focus on return on investment from all company operations and focus on promoting sustainable development in the sector. Equally, he urged the board to familiarise themselves with the two strategies and to acquaint themselves with the relevant legal tools, namely the Amended Public Enterprise Governance Act of 2015, the Namibian Companies Act and the NAM Code. “The government expects all parastatals to pay dividends to government, annual general meetings to be held, annual reports to be produced on time, and to ensure company secretaries are appointed,” he remarked. He encouraged the board to continue moving the company from strength to strength and provide visitors with exceptional experience. He called for a demand-driven, innovative national marketing strategy based on three pillars: domestic, regional and international tourism. Additionally, he called for full and effective implementation of the National Sustainable Tourism Growth and Development Strategy 2016-2026 and National Profile and Promotion Strategy. The aim of these strategies is to unlock the potential of the Namibian tourism and hospitality sector, which has not yet been fully explored. “Let me congratulate you on your continued commitments as board members to ensure good corporate governance and business ethics practice focused on creating profits. At the same time, let me express my sincere gratitude to the management and staff members of Windhoek Country Club for their continued diligence and dedication. Without them the commendable results would not have been achieved,” he said. Thieme in turn said teamwork, diligence, honesty and love of the company, as well as the country at large, are some of the ingredients they used to rescue the once troubled company. He said when they took over in 2009, they did not even claim fees for attending board meetings. He promised that Windhoek Country Club would in due course pay its dividends to its shareholder, the government, while many parastatals have never paid such shares since their establishment. 2017-09-21Staff Report 2
