Buying warships not a holiday says Defence Minister

THE purchase of naval vessels for the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) in Brazil was not an opportunity to have a holiday in the country of Samba dances and carnival, according to Defence Minister Charles Namoloh.

Namibia has bought three vessels from Brazil in the past two financial years.Responding to a question by McHenry Venaani of the DTA in Parliament on Thursday, Namoloh said the total cost of the procurement, including transport of the vessels to Namibia and training of Namibian navy personnel, would only be revealed once the whole procurement was complete. Namoloh said the NS Brendan Simbwaye vessel was designed and built by Brazilian company Empresa Gerencial Projetos Navais (EMEGPRON).Venaani had asked whether NDF navy staff had a holiday trip to Brazil during the procurement process and whether an internal investigation was underway at the Defence Ministry on the matter.’I am not aware of a private or holiday visit (to Brazil) by any Ministry official or NDF officer and there is no internal investigation happening,’ Namoloh responded. ‘As a general practice, the only trips undertaken were for the inspection of the ship last year to ensure that it meets our requirement when the crew went to collect it,’ Namoloh said. Government had entered into an agreement with Brazil in 2004 to procure the navy vessel NS Brendan Simbwaye and two patrol boats. The Brendan Simbwaye was inaugurated at Walvis Bay in June this year.