An Evaluation of the NAMFI/ICEIDA Cooperation Project 2002 -2004

Tumi Tómasson ICEIDA May 2004
Hafeni Mungungu
An evaluation of NAMFI
offered to support such an assessment already this year. The offer was however later
withdrawn. The new deputy director has led this work and the level of professionalism was
questioned by ICEIDA staff. This type of information will however be needed to determine
the extent and exact nature of some the continued cooperation.
It is recommended that a well planned study be carried out to assess the need for
trained officers and evaluate different strategies to promote further Namibianisation
of the fishing fleet.
Most of the staff at NAMFI is recent in their jobs and many have limited qualifications and
experience. A new director is still to be appointed, the administrative manager and acting
director has been on the job for 6 months, and the deputy director and chief accountant for
less than two months. Several of the administrative staff is also newly recruited. The
management is still in need of guidance. The ICEIDA project manager has more experience
than any of the current staff of managing NAMFI, apart from his several years of experience
in Iceland in an equivalent post. He will be a key resource person for the institute in the
months to come, and a formal counterpart to the new deputy director.
It is proposed that he remain in his post until mid-2005 and that an extension of up to
one year should be considered. It is not advisable to hire a new Icelandic expert for
this job. His departure should mark the termination of the presence of full time
ICEIDA staff at NAMFI.
The business consultancy provided by ICEIDA during the first half of 2003 was very
successful. Not only did it highlight critical issues in the management of the institute, but it
also brought in a new way of analysing and planning that has benefited both NAMFI and the
Board. With a largely new Board and considering that none of the present management team
at NAMFI were in their posts when the consultancy took place, a decision to provide a
follow-up consultancy is endorsed.
It is recommended that the follow-up consultancy should be implemented as soon as
possible. The assumptions made about income, staffing and salary structures should
be revised in the light of experience and the outcome of the needs assessment.
NAMFI will for some time be dependent on expatriate instructors. It is anticipated that the
Spanish instructors will remain after the end of the current AECI project in late 2005. The
Two Norwegian instructors will leave at the end of this year. Out of 17 instructors in the
navigation and engine departments, 14 have come through a cadet scheme. Most cadets have
no maritime background before commencing their studies. Of seven instructors in the
navigation department, three were hired last year, three have completed Class 5 and two
Class 6. Only two have completed Class 4. An instructor to teach Class 5 should have a
minimum certification of Class 4. Training of counterparts with Class 6 and Class 5
certification is not likely to meet its objectives unless the counterparts are also able to
continue further formal studies and gain further experience at sea.
To speed up the building up of indigenous capacity in the department, NAMFI should
hire instructors with more experience and qualifications than until now. It is
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