National Resorts For Foreigners And The Rich Only?

LAST Sunday I went with my wife and seven kids for a day visit to Etosha.

We live in Tsumeb and use the opportunity to see Namibia's

wonderful wildlife on day visits to the nearby Namutoni resort.

About six times in 2003 we spent a wonderful day with our

children in nature at Etosha for an affordable price.

 

N$120 for petrol, N$80 for a braai and around N$75 for the daily

entrance fee was an expenditure you still could afford every two

months.

 

Last Sunday, however, we had to find out that a new day visit

fee has been introduced, N$40 for an adult, N$10 for children,

additional to the entrance fee of N$10 per adult and N$2 per kid,

pushing the daily fee to N$214, an amount which even for me, as a

Namibian GRN officer, is hard to swallow.

 

Is it really like that, that we middle class working people

should be kicked out like that from our natural resorts? Should we

spend our times in bars instead of showing the beauty of our

wildlife to our children?

 

I have sympathy for the managers of Namibia Wildlife Resorts

that they want to get a bigger piece of the tourist cake from

people staying at Mokuti Lodge etc. and driving to Etosha for a

morning or afternoon game drives.

 

But not at the cost of us Namibians! There must other means.

 

We have a right to see the beauty of our country at an

affordable price.

 

I used to take many kids from the North for their first time to

Etosha, I used to reward my kids for good school results with a day

visit to Etosha and I even used to have birthday parties for my

kids in Namutoni.

 

Will this now all be over? For the sake of our children, please,

my appeal to Namibia Wildlife Resorts and our Cabinet: reduce the

fees for us Namibians again to an affordable level and let our

natural resorts not become a privilege for foreigners and the

rich!

 

- Klaus and Nangula Fleissner - Tsumeb

 

About six times in 2003 we spent a wonderful day with our children

in nature at Etosha for an affordable price. N$120 for petrol, N$80

for a braai and around N$75 for the daily entrance fee was an

expenditure you still could afford every two months. Last Sunday,

however, we had to find out that a new day visit fee has been

introduced, N$40 for an adult, N$10 for children, additional to the

entrance fee of N$10 per adult and N$2 per kid, pushing the daily

fee to N$214, an amount which even for me, as a Namibian GRN

officer, is hard to swallow. Is it really like that, that we middle

class working people should be kicked out like that from our

natural resorts? Should we spend our times in bars instead of

showing the beauty of our wildlife to our children? I have sympathy

for the managers of Namibia Wildlife Resorts that they want to get

a bigger piece of the tourist cake from people staying at Mokuti

Lodge etc. and driving to Etosha for a morning or afternoon game

drives. But not at the cost of us Namibians! There must other

means. We have a right to see the beauty of our country at an

affordable price. I used to take many kids from the North for their

first time to Etosha, I used to reward my kids for good school

results with a day visit to Etosha and I even used to have birthday

parties for my kids in Namutoni. Will this now all be over? For the

sake of our children, please, my appeal to Namibia Wildlife Resorts

and our Cabinet: reduce the fees for us Namibians again to an

affordable level and let our natural resorts not become a privilege

for foreigners and the rich! - Klaus and Nangula Fleissner -

Tsumeb

---