Public shareholder gets N$20 million dividend from Country Club resort
“The property has a working business model and I encourage all the public enterprises to follow the example of the Windhoek Country Club Resort,” said the Deputy Director in the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, Louise Shixwameni when she accepted a N$20 million dividend cheque from the Chairman of the resort’s board, Dr Evans Simataa, earlier in December.
Chairman Simataa said the famous hotel’s financial performance showed a substantial recovery since the Covid implosion in 2020 and 2021. “In the fiscal year 2023 our overall revenues witnessed a remarkable improvement, surging by an impressive N$69,2 million year on year.” He also pointed out that not a single person lost his job at the resort as a result of Covid.
“In 2021 we recorded losses of N$ 17.7 million and in 2022 we reduced the loss to N$4.2 million. However, I am thrilled to report that our efforts and strategic initiatives have borne fruit, leading to a profit of N$15,3 million in the 2023 financial year. This marks the highest profit our business has recorded since 2014,” he said.
The chairman said he is confident about the travel and hospitality industry for 2024, to such an extent that 2024 may turn out to be the establishment’s best year to date.
Shixwameni who represented the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Hon Iipumbu Shiimi, also expressed her gratitude to the board and management of Windhoek Country Club Resort as well as to Legacy Hotels & Resorts Management Services.
“We want to continue the narrative of changing the legacy of public enterprises and Windhoek Country Club Resort is a shining example,” she said. The fact that the hotel managed to be turned from its loss-making history, she ascribed to the quality leadership of the board and the experienced management, as well as the high level of integrity and commitment everyone has to the business.
Deputy Director in the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, Louise Shixwameni (centre) with the Chairman of the Board, Dr Evans Simataa (second from left), the hotel’s manager, Mark Boucher (right) and the rest of the board, at the dividend presentation of the establishment to its shareholder, the Namibian Government.
