Picture: Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre
By STAFF REPORTER
Revellers were left high and dry at Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre with no provision of water for days. This comes after the North West Tourism Board organised an event at the institution last week to celebrate the Tourism Month in a quest to promote the province’s various tourist attractions.
Some of the guests were allegedly forced to draw some water from the swimming pool to bath. They allegedly informed the institution’s acting chief executive officer (CEO), Adv Mothusi Tsineng but instead he allegedly requested them to revolt against the matter.
Tsineng allegedly entered a tour bus at the hotel school and accused the media of not writing anything about lack of water. He allegedly called on people to embark on protests over lack of water and shut down strategic areas with burning tyres.
North West Tourism Board spokesperson, Mamaki Phoolo said: “We are aware that there is no water at the hotel. However, it is not only the hotel school affected as this includes the surrounding areas.
“We will continue to engage with the water service provider and ensure that our guests are catered for. On allegations leveled against the CEO, I cannot comment. Please, call him so that he can answer for himself.”
Tsineng did not respond to our messages and his phone rang unanswered before going to print. Some of the staff members who did not want to be named for reprisal also alleged that Tsineng displays arrogance towards them too.
Meanwhile, the Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation, and Tourism in the province and its agency North West Tourism Board in partnership with the Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports Foundation on Thursday launched the province’s film festival in Taung under the theme “Film inspires Tourism’’.
The North West Tourism Board marketing coordinator, Mpho Motshegwa said: “Communities must sell the province to potential tourists. What we want to see going forward is that the first people to traverse this province should be the residents of the North West.
“We also concede that it could have been how we have been marketing the destination, our pre-occupation has been with the outside people forgetting our people. So, we are trying to rework our marketing model, so that it has an internal focus to start with our people because our people understand the dynamics of the province,” Motshegwa said.
The Regional Director of Mmabana in Taung, Nako Molema said Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sports foundation through outreach programs identify talent from different villages and nurture it.
“We are an academy of arts and culture, we identify the talent of children in the villages through what we call outreach programs, it’s mostly called talent search but we call it outreach. And once we have identified talent we nurture it and groom them to become professional artists by providing necessary platforms for them,” said Molema.
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