NWR staff wash linen by hand amid repair delays

Waterberg Resort staff were forced to wash linen by hand after Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) opted for a more expensive contractor, who left the laundry machines broken for nearly eight months, documents show.

The park is located east of Otjiwarongo and features the towering Waterberg Plateau.

Internal documents seen by Namibian Sun show that Semanton Investment CC, a Katutura-based company that previously serviced the resort’s machines, submitted a quotation of N$53 330 to repair all laundry equipment following a full site inspection.

However, NWR’s procurement management unit (PMU) did not approve the request and instead favoured Central Technical Supplies (CTS), which had quoted N$130 820 for the same scope of work without reportedly visiting the site.

In a scaled-down decision taken on 16 December 2025, the PMU approved CTS to repair only one washing machine for N$28 810, leaving the rest of the equipment unattended.

Despite receiving the purchase order, CTS reportedly never arrived on site, citing delays in sourcing parts, and months later, the machine remained unrepaired.

The result was a prolonged operational crisis at the resort.

Daily operations affected

In an operational report dated 4 February, Waterberg Resort manager Elly Nuule warned senior management that the breakdown had severely affected daily operations, staff productivity and guest service delivery.

“The machines have not been functional for an extended period, forcing staff to wash linen manually or transport laundry to our sister resort, Gross Barman, which is located more than 200 kilometres away,” Nuule wrote.

He further warned of delays in room turnaround times, the risk of linen shortages during peak occupancy and potential chemical exposure risks to staff handling laundry by hand.

Records show that Nuule had raised the issue as early as 13 August 2025, when he submitted an internal purchase requisition for Semanton Investment CC to carry out the full repairs.

The request was acknowledged by the PMU but never approved, with no formal explanation provided to the resort.

In correspondence seen by this publication, Nuule later requested written authorisation from procurement officials, explaining why only one supplier was being considered despite a significant price difference.

“Due to the huge difference between the two quotations, I would like to request your good office to provide me with the directive and authorisation document… as I will be signing as accounting officer,” he wrote in April 2026.

The response from the PMU did not address the pricing disparity; instead, it advised that the procurement be resubmitted as a direct procurement from authorised agents to ensure accountability and warranties.

Meanwhile, a new individual procurement plan drawn up in April 2026 placed the cost of the same work at N$103 915, again based on a quotation from Semanton Investment CC, which the document itself described as the lowest responsive bidder.

The Public Procurement Act requires that contracts be awarded to the lowest evaluated substantially responsive bidder, unless there is documented justification for deviating from that principle.

No such justification appears in the documents reviewed.

NWR mum on the issue

Questions sent by Namibian Sun to NWR’s acting managing director, Epson Kasuto, and chief financial officer, Brian Masule, went unanswered by the time of publication.

CTS’ Frank Biederlack told Namibian Sun that NWR allegedly does not service its machines on a regular basis.

“It is very difficult to explain since we have a number of works with the company. What I can tell you is that NWR does not service their machines regularly, and every time they call us to go and fix, when we get there, the machines are bad,” Biederlack said.

“There are bearing failures, and most times repairs like that take longer, and sometimes the parts come from overseas,” Biederlack added.