Hospitality Association Of Namibia Under National Spotlight
Namibian News: 14 August 2021, Windhoek
The Hospitality Association Of Namibia has been under immense scrutiny recently, since the news reports started emerging of their alleged control over the tourism sector. One of the oldest tourism association in Namibia, it has always been in the forefront of the discussions, however while most thought that they were the face of the industry, they have always only represented the interests of their members, which range between 200-300 members.
We have learned of at least 50-60 members who have left HAN since 2020-2021 because of the public disputes between various private sector entities and a few new comers to the industry, more specifically Namibia Travel & Tourism Forum, who has been actively publishing information about HAN and other associations citing their lack of inclusivity. However many of these members are still listed on their website to show the numbers higher. We have confirmed at least 15 of them, as we received their e-mail copies showing they left HAN, some over a year ago.
At the same time their CEO, Ms. Gitta Paetzold, who has been in that position for over 25 years, has refused to discuss the issue of HAN and its role in the sector, with anyone. This also prompted the Minister of Environment, Forestry & Tourism, Minister Pohamba Shifeta, to release a statement that the industry urgently needs to meet and discuss these issues to prevent the impact on the wider industry. While the minister indicated that they are working with the Forum, they stated that the other entities should not be worried about this relationship. As it seems that some of the associations, predominantly HAN, are more worried about new companies coming into the sector to bring in new ideas and solutions to revive tourism.
The attitude of Ms. Paetzold is very clearly that of someone from the pre-independence era. Since the early days of tourism, the handful of companies that started them, were mostly German owned and slowly more white owned companies started cropping up in the tourism industry. However there has always been the close group in the industry, that mainly comprises of German companies, or companies that focus solely on Germany as their source market. After 30 years of independence, we still see that mentality in a N$26 billion industry. Even though the number of local Namibian companies and people in the tourism industry has grown 50 folds, the small group still acts under the umbrella of Hospitality Association Of Namibia. There are also ongoing investigations into the private company that Ms. Paetzold owns via family members, that operates as a tour operator in Germany focused on sending tourists to Namibia and charging the tourists in Germany, depriving Namibians of any benefits of those tours.
When an association ignores other initiatives or entities, it might be considered a business decision. However, when the majority of the industry and minister himself of the line ministry of the sector has stepped in and they still ignore the concerns of everyone and continue doing what they do, that is not business driven, this is politically and racially driven. And the board of HAN seems to be there just for the namesake as everything is decided, communicated, and confirmed by the CEO, which should never be the case, however it is clear why this institution exists in the first place.
There have been millions of dollars and opportunities given to HAN, which has never been accounted for. They have never revealed the salary of the CEO, which is assumed to be almost N$70,000/month along with a lot of other benefits. There is no way to audit the members as everything is closely guarded with just one person, the CEO.
Ignorance and favoritism might have worked in the past, but the new generation of Namibians, who are born after 1990, will not stand for this monopoly and capture of the market. And are demanding that HAN CEO, and the entire board, be held responsible for their actions. A statement released to media is not sufficient, an email discrediting another entity does not mean that HANs actions are excusable or even legal. We also demand a full public audit of HAN, a list of their entire board since the inception, as they only seem to have some local black Namibians as a way to show numbers, they do not have any real say in anything.
The petition against HAN has been collecting a lot of momentum and now stands at over 300 signatures of companies that are claiming to be negatively impacted by the biased actions of HAN and their CEO through the Covid19 pandemic, and most commented that it has been ongoing for a long time before that.
The only real option that HAN has left, is to discuss their association publicly, on national media, and change their CEO to someone who is more focused on Namibian tourism industry, not towards the German tourism market, as currently the bias is clearly not in Namibia’s favor. As the infographic that was distributed recently clearly shows the bias and where their interest stand.
Silence is no longer an option for HAN, the impact of their actions affects over 100,000 Namibians in the tourism industry, and the longer this continues, the more fragmentation and tensions rise in the industry, and we cannot afford either at this stage. You cannot have someone with the mindset of colonial rule, to now dictate the new Namibians on how the industry must develop and grow.
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