WINDHOEK – The Namibian Employers Federation (NEF) says there is nothing wrong with the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) having its own construction company but it should not compete with the private sector because this could dent job prospects in the private sector.
The government-owned company, August Twenty Six UBM Construction, was inaugurated by Minister of Defence, Nahas Angula, recently and is the ninth subsidiary of the army’s commercial arm, August 26 Holdings.
Due to the covert operations of armies, most tend to have some sort of construction division to cater solely for the construction needs of the army such as constructing and repairing buildings, roads, bridges and erecting temporary shelters.
In the United Kingdom, they are called the Royal Engineers.
“This unit should concentrate on renovation and maintenance of the NDF buildings and could conceivably be used to erect new buildings,” said NEF Secretary-General Tim Parkhouse.
“However, most certainly not to go out to the private sector and compete with the private sector for tenders. To do that would be grossly unethical. These men are already paid as soldiers and therefore any tender for work would in effect be subsidised compared with the private sector.”
NEF represents the interests of over 4 200 employers in the country.
Parkhouse questioned where the military company would source skills needed in the country’s growing construction industry.
“On another level, will this new construction company have the expertise and capability to construct quality buildings? The private sector struggles to find quality skills that are needed, where will this new company find them?” asked Parkhouse.
He said there is a need to create more jobs in the country, not to threaten the private sector by allocating construction work unhindered to men already earning a salary.
“We need to create jobs not take work away from those that need it,” said Parkhouse.
August Twenty Six UBM Construction Managing Director, Colonel John Namoloh, told New Era soon after the inauguration ceremony that the company will diversify its operations and will not only focus on competing for contracts within the Ministry of Defence.
“We want to compete with others because we joined the mainstream construction industry. How do we make profit if we only follow the shareholder, it does not make sense. TransNamib does not only transport goods for the Ministry of Works and Transport, that is not how you make profit,” said Namoloh.
He said the company will engage local partners that have “financial muscles and expertise in order to enter into equity partnerships”.
“Where we lack skills and finance, we will enter into partnerships with local partners and share the profits,” he said.
The Egyptian military is one of the African armies known for its involvement in that country’s construction sector and continues to receive contracts worth billions to carry out large infrastructure projects. The army’s role in Egypt’s domestic affairs has, however, raised questions about the commercial role of the military, especially the fairness and accountability of its practices when competing for state contracts with private construction firms. Similar concerns have been raised in Namibia.