The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has launched courses aimed at equipping Government institutions with the necessary skills they need to buy goods and services. Courses will differ in duration from five-days for some courses to six-months for others and they will be offered by the Namibian Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Namibia and Namibia and University of Science and Technology. MoF says the courses will offer Government institutions capacity development and training in public procurement. It says a one-year programme forming part of these short courses will be at Level Four of the Namibia Qualification Framework (NQF). An advanced diploma in procurement supply, a three-year bachelor of procurement management, and a postgraduate diploma in procurement management will also be offered. Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi says the Government has been met with challenges implementing the Public Procurement Act. He says technical skills and institutional capacity are lacking in the adjudication of bids. Shiimi said in a speech read on his behalf at the launch in Windhoek on Thursday that the programmes are aligned to the market needs and specifically respond to the demand and training needs of the public sector.