Tourism College Explains Why It Has Closed

THE Namibia Hotel & Tourism College opened it doors in January 2003 to ensure a better future for all Namibians.

Being in line with the principles set out in Vision 2030, the College, with the support from Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation, had high hopes of getting funding through a soft loan and from the Development Fund of Namibia. The College started in good faith with myself, Vicky Greyling, as managing director working with five teachers and lecturers, one of whom, Mr Liam Smith, was a director, 14 administrative and maintenance staff and twelve students.As managing director I invested my finances, time and efforts into the college, with support from the other two directors, Mr Smith and Mr Andrew Matjila, staff and students.Unfortunately, not having endeavoured any thing of this kind before, we did not have clear guidelines on how to apply for financial assistance.After having gone from one Ministry after the other looking for support, we only learnt in August 2003 from an employee of the Ministry of Finance that all grants or soft loans from any sort must go through the National Planning Commission.This was immediately followed up with an appointment with the Director General who was extremely helpful.Since then I had three meetings and various e-mail discussions with the NPC.Through the NPC various letters was sent to overseas bodies for help. The Namibia Hotel & Tourism College also approached various countries through the consulates for a soft loan.This was only done in November on advice of the NPC. Despite having no external financial support, we tried to keep the college alive with personal bank loans, volunteer trainers and tuition fees from the students.Huge debts were incurred in the faith that we would be able to secure external funding because of the College meeting so many of Namibia’s development principles.The vision of the Namibia Hotel & Tourism College was and is to open doors to students who are not necessarily strong academically.Through a combination of academic subjects based on the business world and a strong practical training, our students would be able to pursue a career that will enrich and upgrade their lifestyles in practical ways.We specialise in training students for jobs in hotel management, food and beverage management, front office and customer management, and secretarial and office practices for the hospitality sector.Due to the high debt incurred in 2003, the Namibia Hotel & Tourism College had to temporarily close its doors in November.I am, however, confident that with our business plan and objectives we have a high chance of obtaining external funding and/or soft loans in 2004. To all those who supported us in the past year, my sincere gratitude. It was not an easy year.In good faith, I was convinced that we would have secured funding still in 2003.Should you have any queries or be interested in the business opportunities we offer, do not hesitate to contact me ria@mweb.com.na, PO Box 2714, Swakopmund or cell. (264-) 81-128-3628.- Vicky Greyling – Managing DirectorNote: This letter has been shortenedThe College started in good faith with myself, Vicky Greyling, as managing director working with five teachers and lecturers, one of whom, Mr Liam Smith, was a director, 14 administrative and maintenance staff and twelve students. As managing director I invested my finances, time and efforts into the college, with support from the other two directors, Mr Smith and Mr Andrew Matjila, staff and students.Unfortunately, not having endeavoured any thing of this kind before, we did not have clear guidelines on how to apply for financial assistance. After having gone from one Ministry after the other looking for support, we only learnt in August 2003 from an employee of the Ministry of Finance that all grants or soft loans from any sort must go through the National Planning Commission. This was immediately followed up with an appointment with the Director General who was extremely helpful. Since then I had three meetings and various e-mail discussions with the NPC. Through the NPC various letters was sent to overseas bodies for help. The Namibia Hotel & Tourism College also approached various countries through the consulates for a soft loan. This was only done in November on advice of the NPC. Despite having no external financial support, we tried to keep the college alive with personal bank loans, volunteer trainers and tuition fees from the students. Huge debts were incurred in the faith that we would be able to secure external funding because of the College meeting so many of Namibia’s development principles.The vision of the Namibia Hotel & Tourism College was and is to open doors to students who are not necessarily strong academically. Through a combination of academic subjects based on the business world and a strong practical training, our students would be able to pursue a career that will enrich and upgrade their lifestyles in practical ways. We specialise in training students for jobs in hotel management, food and beverage management, front office and customer management, and secretarial and office practices for the hospitality sector.Due to the high debt incurred in 2003, the Namibia Hotel & Tourism College had to temporarily close its doors in November. I am, however, confident that with our business plan and objectives we have a high chance of obtaining external funding and/or soft loans in 2004. To all those who supported us in the past year, my sincere gratitude. It was not an easy year. In good faith, I was convinced that we would have secured funding still in 2003.Should you have any queries or be interested in the business opportunities we offer, do not hesitate to contact me ria@mweb.com.na, PO Box 2714, Swakopmund or cell. (264-) 81-128-3628.- Vicky Greyling – Managing DirectorNote: This letter has been shortened