THE NORTH WEST PARKS & TOURISM BOARD

Chief Executive Officer of the Board

Allan Losaba has been appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the North West Parks and Tourism Board (NWPTB) from 01 April 2009. He is no newcomer to the NWP&TB, having left the NWPTB at the end of February 2008 to join Mmabana Arts, Culture and Sport Foundation from March 2008 as its Chief Executive Officer.

His re-appointment to the NWP&TB reaffirms a wealth of experience he possesses in corporate governance and government service; and denotes government’s confidence in his ability to lead the organization. Losaba joined the NWP&TB in 2004 as a Chief Operations Officer. He was later seconded to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (DACE) to assist in a vacant position of Chief Financial Officer for a year.

He returned to the NWP&TB in May 2005 to continue with the Management of the Hotels Schools Division, Protected Areas Management and Marketing functions.

In 2006, he was deployed to the commercial arm of the NWP&TB, Dirapeng (Pty) Ltd. as Chief Executive Officer. Upon return, he resumed his position of Chief Operations Officer for a year and left at the end of February 2008 to join the Mmabana Foundation. Upon the resignation of the NWPTB CEO in September 2008, Allan Losaba was redeployed to the NWP&TB as Acting CEO, a position he held until the end of March 2009.

His academic background began with a legal qualification with the University of Natal. He later left South Africa for the USA, (Central Methodist University, Missouri) where he successfully completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He then registered with the University of Central Missouri and successfully completed a Master of Business Administration degree in 1994. Upon completion, he did his internship with the Durham, North Carolina based Sloan Financial Group under the tutelage of Maceo Sloan, Justin Becket, Tammie Faust-Coley and Clifford Mpare.

Losaba's work experience spans a period of 13 years characterized by tenures in Procurement (purchasing), Finance, Corporate Governance and now as Chief Executive Officer.

Members of the Board

Ms Mamokwena Gaoretelelwe (Chairperson)
Mr Lungile Tyatya	Mr Gabriel Mokgogo (Deputy Chairperson)		Mr T. Seboka
Ms M.S. Nke	Ms J.V. Mogadime		Mr P.G.M. Maleka
	Ms T.M. Sikwane
Non-full-time (Alternate Members)
Ms. Dudu Boemah	Kgosi Nyoko Motlhabane		Mr Lucky Tsagae

The North West Parks and Tourism Board is committed to the upliftment of the quality of life in the North West Province through the conserving of wild plants, animals and landscapes for the benefit of the people.

To accomplish its mission, four main strategies have been adopted by NWP&TB:

• to obtain the commitment of the province for the conservation of wildlife resources;
• to participate in the planning of land use in the province and where appropriate develop and manage national parks and game reserves cost-effectively and to the benefit of wildlife conservation and people;
• to facilitate the development of wildlife-related industries for the social and economic benefit of the people; and
• to develop human resources for the benefit of wildlife conservation and the people.

The Establishment of the Board

The North West Parks and Tourism Board has its roots in the development of the Pilanesberg National Park in the late 1970's. In terms of the National Parks Act No. 24 of Bophuthatswana, passed in 1987, the Board as it stands today was established "for the purpose of managing proclaimed parks and controlling the use of renewable natural resources outside such national parks". Although the Act provides a broad framework within which the Board can operate, it is vitally important to establish more focused objectives and to have a clear and unambiguous mission statement to help direct the Board's activities. The mission statement is indispensable, yet it must be flexible enough to accommodate the rapid changes in the social, political and economic climate that is presently sweeping southern Africa.

The Estate of the Board

The Board is presently responsible for two national parks, three game reserves, one recreation site and one heritage site. Pilanesberg National Park, our oldest reserve, is located approximately 60 km north of Rustenburg. The resorts of Sun City and Lost City lie outside the Park on its southern boundary. Borakalalo National Park is found to the east of Pilanesberg about 60 km north of Brits. Madikwe Game Reserve, the largest of all our parks and reserves, is found 80 km north of Zeerust on the Botswana border, while Botsalano Game Reserve is located approximately 40 km north of Mmabatho.

The third game reserve, Mafikeng Game Reserve, is found immediately east of Mafikeng, while the Lotlamoreng Recreation Site is located a few kilometres west of Mafikeng.

Both the Mafikeng Game Reserve and the Lotlamoreng Recreation Site, together with a strip of intervening land along the Molopo River, comprise what is known as the Mmabatho Greenbelt Development. The Taung Heritage Site is located approximately 75 km south of Vryburg.