Niël Terblanché
While Erica Shafudah, the finance minister, delivered her maiden national budget speech in the National Assembly, visitors to some of the country’s premier tourist destinations continued to face fuel shortages that have remained unresolved at several sites run by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR).
Nelson Ashipala, the spokesperson for NWR, in a statement on Thursday, confirmed that the situation at Halali Camp in Etosha National Park remains unchanged.
“As for now, all booked-in clients will be accommodated at Okaukuejo and Namutoni until the situation is resolved,” he said.
He added that no additional costs would be incurred by affected guests, and urged them to contact the NWR reservations office to amend their bookings.
The fuel crisis, now in its third week, has affected key tourist destinations including Halali, Okaukuejo, Terrace Bay, Sesriem Campsite and /Ai-/Ais Hot Springs and Spa.
Ashipala said the persistent lack of fuel stems from delivery failures by NWR’s supplier, Enercon—a company partly owned by the military-controlled August 26 Holdings.
“All of our resorts that have service stations do not have fuel. The issue is obviously with our suppliers who were not able to deliver fuel,” he said.
In addition to the fuel shortage, Halali Camp is also grappling with intermittent electricity supply problems.
Ashipala attributed this to heavy rains, calling it a “prevailing force of nature”, and added that CenoRED is busy addressing the supply challenges.
The continuing problems have forced the state-owned tourism operator to make alternative arrangements for guests, with Ashipala once again advising travellers to plan their journeys carefully.
“We request clients to be patient while we try to get the situation under control,” he said.
