Dear Sir,

The letter published under the letters and opinions section of the 10 January 2008 Informanté, regarding recruitment and selection at Namibia Wildlife Resorts refers. NWR is an equal opportunity employer, and has defined policies regarding recruitment and selection. Under this Board and Management, to the greatest extent possible, a competitive approach has been used when recruiting and selecting personnel, which includes the internal and external advertising of vacant posts, and appointments based on interviews of short-listed candidates.  The only exception has been in contribution to the National San upliftment programme, in coordination with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.  The writer would be aware that over the past year and a half, the company has been implementing a turnaround strategy, aimed at rectifying existing deficiencies, and a certain degree of crisis management has been required in the process. Regarding the reference to “recruits from Grade 10 and 12”, in the hospitality industry it is the general norm to recruit young and inexperienced persons for in-house training, coaching and mentorship. The tourism sector is a labour intensive industry that needs young able-bodied people to carry out the responsibilities. This ensures that personnel are trained consistently with the particular needs and value propositions of the company in mind, and results in the energetic and dynamic workforce required to meet the service levels expected by our valued clients. In this respect, and as an example, during the recruitment and selection of new staff for Sossus Dune Lodge and Etosha, NWR enlisted the services of two local experienced hospitality training companies that independently screened applicants, initially through face to face interviews and thereafter through continuous assessment during the training period.  The staff establishment of NWR is representative of the Namibian population demography, and includes persons from all ethnic groups, including persons from Caprivi, at all levels. NWR does not condone discriminatory behaviour of any sort, and has a grievance procedure available to all staff that should be followed should such events occur. Management is not aware of the specific discriminatory practices against employees from a particular sector of the Namibian population, in particular people from the Caprivi region as alluded to by the writer, and would be eager to investigate specific cases through the grievance procedure, should they emerge. In particular, staff members who are children of high profile individuals in society are treated in the same manner as other staff or applicants. Employees form the backbone of our organisation, and are considered our single biggest asset, which is why there is a Department dedicated to ensuring their wellbeing.  We recognise that it is in the best interest of our Company that our employees are content in their work environment, in order to optimise productivity.  It is therefore regrettable that a staff member of NWR should feel distraught regarding the recruitment and selection process in the Company, and we would encourage this individual to use the processes and procedures available to all employees. NWR is aware that few employees have still not fully embraced the positive changes that NWR is implementing, thereby having the potential to negatively affect the good achievements that the rest have so tirelessly worked hard for in the last year and a half.  Resistance to change is of course a natural human reaction, caused primarily by insecurity and fear, which is why NWR Management has and will continue to place great value and emphasis on sound change management practices, and to provide the necessary support and counselling to employees in this regard. NWR was given a clear mandate by Cabinet to turn the company around, as part of the drive to ensure that Namibian State Owned Enterprises become self-sufficient, as originally intended.  The NWR Board and Management realise that this will take a lot of hard work, energy, dedication and perseverance.  We wish to thank the Namibian nation for their support, patience and encouragement.

Pauline Lindeque
Acting Senior Manager: Marketing and Communications