Don’t give up your rights: Minister

FORMERLY disadvantaged Namibians getting rights to earn an income from tourism on State land, whether in or outside protected areas, should not sell or lease such rights, Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore says.

Konjore said the Ministry was opposed to this. “I do not consider it to be empowerment if concession rights are handed over to a formerly disadvantaged community or a person if they would simply lease or sell those rights on to someone else,” he said.He said giving concessions to formerly disadvantaged Namibians was aimed at opening doors for them to benefit from tourism, hunting and other industries based on natural resources.Konjore made these remarks when he opened a workshop on the draft policy on tourism and wildlife concessions on State land a week ago.”Improving access to public resources for the empowerment of formerly disadvantaged Namibians with the aim of uplifting this sector of the population is of the utmost importance,” said Konjore.He said the draft policy emphasises this role of concessions.Instead of selling or leasing their rights, formerly disadvantaged concession holders could opt for collaboration, partnerships and joint ventures.Konjore also warned that tourism was a highly specialised industry that required skills and investment in product development and service delivery.”A tourism or hunting concession is not a quick recipe to wealth, but rather carries significant risks, costs and requires a lot of hard work,” he said.Konjore said there is also a need for broad-based economic empowerment rather than just for a few people, who are already capable of operating in the private sector.He emphasised that concessions are based on public assets belonging to all Namibians and should be used to benefit many rather than just a few.”I do not consider it to be empowerment if concession rights are handed over to a formerly disadvantaged community or a person if they would simply lease or sell those rights on to someone else,” he said. He said giving concessions to formerly disadvantaged Namibians was aimed at opening doors for them to benefit from tourism, hunting and other industries based on natural resources.Konjore made these remarks when he opened a workshop on the draft policy on tourism and wildlife concessions on State land a week ago.”Improving access to public resources for the empowerment of formerly disadvantaged Namibians with the aim of uplifting this sector of the population is of the utmost importance,” said Konjore.He said the draft policy emphasises this role of concessions.Instead of selling or leasing their rights, formerly disadvantaged concession holders could opt for collaboration, partnerships and joint ventures.Konjore also warned that tourism was a highly specialised industry that required skills and investment in product development and service delivery.”A tourism or hunting concession is not a quick recipe to wealth, but rather carries significant risks, costs and requires a lot of hard work,” he said.Konjore said there is also a need for broad-based economic empowerment rather than just for a few people, who are already capable of operating in the private sector.He emphasised that concessions are based on public assets belonging to all Namibians and should be used to benefit many rather than just a few.