NWR to pay former MD Ngwangwama N$1.5m after contract dispute settlement

Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) will pay former managing director (MD) Matthias Ngwangwama N$1.5 million after a labour dispute over the resort’s breach of contract.

The amount constitutes a year’s salary.

This comes after the NWR board failed to notify Ngwangwama about its intentions to not renew his contract six months before it expired.

Ngwangwama was only notified of this a month before he was let go, upon which he took the parastatal to the Labour Court for breach of contract.

Minister of environment and tourism Indileni Daniel has confirmed that the matter has been resolved through a settlement agreement involving that NWR will pay Ngwangwama his salary for a period of 12 months.

Sources within the ministry say this amounts to about N$1.5 million.
The agreement was reached on 14 May, the minister says.

Ngwangwama was represented in the case by his legal adviser, Patrick Kauta.

Documents seen by The Namibian show that Ngwagwama should have been notified of the decision to extend or terminate his contract six months prior to the event, but the board failed to do so.

“In the event that the employer elects not to renew the agreement, the employer shall give the employee no less than six calendar months’ written notice to that effect prior to the expiration of the agreement,” it says.

Sources say the decision to let Ngwangwama go was made at the last minute after he was accused of blocking privatisation deals proposed by some NWR members.

The Namibian reported this year that former environment minister Pohamba Shifeta labelled allegations by Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda regarding the sale or transfer of NWR properties as “propaganda”.

NWR has been at the centre of national controversy in recent months following its involvement in the Sossusvlei Desert land lease deal, which saw a prime section of state-owned land within the Namib-Naukluft Park awarded to a private company.

The deal sparked public and political outcry after it emerged that the agreement could result in NWR losing up to N$175 million in potential revenue over 25 years.

Critics argue that the decision undermines NWR’s mandate as a state-owned enterprise tasked with managing and promoting tourism in national parks.

Ngwangwama did not respond to questions sent to him by the time of going to print yesterday.
NWR’s acting managing director, Elsa Porfirio, did not respond to questions sent by The Namibian on Tuesday.

CANCELLATION

Meanwhile, questions have been raised following NWR advertising a vacant MD position, which was later cancelled.
Daniel says this was done to allow a transparent and thorough selection process.

“Following this, NWR initiated the recruitment process for a new substantive managing director.

The initial job advertisement, circulated on 6 June 2025, was later recalled at the minister’s request to ensure a transparent and thorough selection process aimed at securing strong leadership for the organisation,” she says.

The minister says the recruitment of a new MD is expected to conclude within six months.

“. . . with the appointment of a new managing director anticipated thereafter. In the interim, leadership continuity will be maintained through a rotational acting arrangement to be determined by the board,” she says.

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