Tourism bosses fight over fraud claims
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (Han) has provided tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta with “indisputable evidence of fraud” by the founder of the Namibia Travel and Tourism Forum (NTTF), Nrupesh Soni.
The report from a cyber investigators firm, Cynetio Cyber Security Solutions, was sent to Shifeta last week following countless threats against Han, its executive committee said in a letter addressed to the minister.
“The Han executive committee has been fully aware of all correspondences, the slander and social media discreditation against the Han CEO since 2020, actions which Han regards as not only an attempt to harm the image of one person, or the association, but due to its public display on social media, also reflects negatively on the image of Namibia and its tourism industry in general.”
It further said the association believes it is their responsibility to now share the actions and intentions of Soni, to enable authorities and the industry to take informed decisions before engaging further with individuals and entities claiming to work for the good of Namibia’s tourism sector while continuously discrediting elements within it.
According to Han, its role and activities have come under constant and repeated attack by Soni, who on various platforms attempts to discredit the association and its CEO, Gitta Paetzold.
Denial
Speaking to Namibian Sun, Soni denied the allegations made in the report and questioned its timing, saying that it was done to discredit him.
“I find it ironic that somehow Han decides to send this email four months after the date on the document, a document that does not have any contact information of the company or any other information. This is just a bunch of publicly available information put together,” he said.
He questioned why it was critical for Han to release the report now.
“Is it because now the forum is starting new initiatives with the ministry, so Han finds it important to discredit myself and the initiatives?
“I am not going to even try to defend myself from these alleged accusations as it is clearly meant to plant the seeds of distrust among the industry and further fragment the sector.”
Paetzold said the report was provided to the police, but no formal charge has been laid.
The tourism ministry has been asked to respond to the concerns raised by Han, but no feedback has been received.
WINDHOEK
The Hospitality Association of Namibia (Han) has provided tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta with “indisputable evidence of fraud” by the founder of the Namibia Travel and Tourism Forum (NTTF), Nrupesh Soni.
The report from a cyber investigators firm, Cynetio Cyber Security Solutions, was sent to Shifeta last week following countless threats against Han, its executive committee said in a letter addressed to the minister.
“The Han executive committee has been fully aware of all correspondences, the slander and social media discreditation against the Han CEO since 2020, actions which Han regards as not only an attempt to harm the image of one person, or the association, but due to its public display on social media, also reflects negatively on the image of Namibia and its tourism industry in general.”
It further said the association believes it is their responsibility to now share the actions and intentions of Soni, to enable authorities and the industry to take informed decisions before engaging further with individuals and entities claiming to work for the good of Namibia’s tourism sector while continuously discrediting elements within it.
According to Han, its role and activities have come under constant and repeated attack by Soni, who on various platforms attempts to discredit the association and its CEO, Gitta Paetzold.
Denial
Speaking to Namibian Sun, Soni denied the allegations made in the report and questioned its timing, saying that it was done to discredit him.
“I find it ironic that somehow Han decides to send this email four months after the date on the document, a document that does not have any contact information of the company or any other information. This is just a bunch of publicly available information put together,” he said.
He questioned why it was critical for Han to release the report now.
“Is it because now the forum is starting new initiatives with the ministry, so Han finds it important to discredit myself and the initiatives?
“I am not going to even try to defend myself from these alleged accusations as it is clearly meant to plant the seeds of distrust among the industry and further fragment the sector.”
Paetzold said the report was provided to the police, but no formal charge has been laid.
The tourism ministry has been asked to respond to the concerns raised by Han, but no feedback has been received.
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