SOEs foot bill for NYC joyride

A number of state enterprises have bent over backwards to assist in realising what can only be described as an exotic trip for more than 200 young people to Sochi, Russia, for the upcoming 2017 World Festival of Youth and Students.

The National Youth Council (NYC), which organised the trip, chartered an aircraft from Air Namibia to fly the delegation directly to Russia from Hosea Kutako International Airport last night.

Although the exact amount could not be ascertained, insiders at Air Namibia estimated the chartered flight to cost no less than N$5 million.

“Government will foot the bill,” the sources said.

The minister of sport, youth and national service, Jerry Ekandjo, said the finance ministry would pay Air Namibia.

He said the trip was entirely organised by the NYC and he was therefore not able to comment on the cost.

Ekandjo did say that the NYC had approached the youth ministry for funding.

“The ministry does not have money and submitted a request to the ministry of finance, which approved N$500 000,” said Ekandjo.

Ekandjo estimated that the N$500 000 would only cover the costs of about 30 delegates.

The Air Namibia aircraft will leave empty from Sochi and fly to Frankfurt tomorrow to resume its normal flights.

Air Namibia earlier this week alerted its other passengers that they would have to be rerouted to other airlines. These passengers were requested to either take earlier flights or take later flights tomorrow.



Scramble for funding

By yesterday afternoon the NYC organisers were allegedly still scrambling at the eleventh hour to secure funding for the trip.

Air Namibia insiders said Namdia had offered to cover N$1 million of the costs.





However, yesterday afternoon Namdia CEO Kennedy Hamutenya said he had submitted the NYC request for funding to the Namdia board, which was still deliberating on the request.

Hamutenya said the NYC had indicated that it would require at least “N$2 million from diamond companies” to cover some of the trip's costs.

Leading the delegation to Sochi are deputy international relations minister Peya Mushelenga, the youth ministry's permanent secretary Emma Kantema-Gaomas and NYC executive chairperson Mandela Kapere.

A total of 200 visas were issued although only 183 invitations to the conference had been extended. Kapere had reportedly earlier indicated that some 179 delegates from Namibia would be going.

It could not be confirmed who the delegates are or how they were selected, since neither Kapere nor any other NYC organiser could be reached for comment yesterday.

The delegates are expected to return to Namibia on 20 October.

In its reponse, Air Namibia would not divulge the exact amount to be paid, saying it is a transactional business deal and therefore confidential.

Air Namibia said its Airbus A330 was chartered on the full operational cost, including its margin. The costing caters for the positioning flight from Sochi to Frankfurt and vice versa.

“It is noteworthy to add that the client has solicited alternative quotes from other air operators, and Air Namibia's was the most competitive and affordable as we have the shortest positioning time – because Air Namibia will fly directly to Sochi, as well as considering the convenience and the status of flying the national airline,” Air Namibia's spokesperson, Paulus Nakawa, said.

Nakawa said Air Namibia has offered the charter services to the NYC because it “makes business sense to do so”.

He said the airline has been able to obtain clearance from all other countries to overfly and land, in the shortest possible timeframe.

Nakawa said as the national airline, Air Namibia is “proud to be offering the air travel service to the youth through the NYC to attend this important conference”.





CATHERINE SASMAN