#TenderProcess

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8 months ago

Health ministry blames tender delays on emergency tenders Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services says it was forced to spend over N$54.8 million through emergency and direct procurement due to delays by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) in awarding tenders. Health executive director Penda Ithindi told the Windhoek Observer that legal challenges and slow tender processes forced the ministry to use emergency, direct, and restricted procurement methods. He said these steps, including requests for quotations, were necessary to prevent service interruptions. The auditor general’s 2022/2023 report revealed that the ministry used emergency procurement worth N$19.2 million and direct procurement worth N$35.6 million. The report found that these methods did not fully comply with the public procurement act of 2015. Ithindi defended the ministry’s actions, saying it deals with life-saving services and cannot afford delays. “The ministry is an entity that deals with emergency situations in the country,” he said. Emergency procurement is triggered when hospitals or regional offices report urgent needs. Requests are then reviewed and approved internally, including by the ministry’s procurement committee, in line with the procurement law. One delay involved a court dispute over a major tender for antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Ithindi said the ministry had to use emergency and direct procurement to ensure patients continued receiving treatment. Last year, Africure Pharmaceuticals Namibia took the CPBN, along with the ministers of health and finance and several companies, to court over the ARV tender. Africure, led by businessman Shapwa Kanyama, sought to stop the CPBN from signing contracts with other suppliers until its court challenge was resolved. Africure had bid to supply 19 types of ARVs valued at N$342.7 million but was awarded a contract for only two items worth N$722,832. The company claimed the decision was unfair and that it had not been treated equally compared to other local firms like FabuPharm, which received larger contracts. Africure said it invested N$89 million in a local manufacturing plant and employed 38 Namibians. The CPBN disputed this, saying Africure was a packer and importer, not a local manufacturer. The CPBN also cited document discrepancies and warned that court delays could affect public access to essential ARVs. Earlier this year, the ministry faced criticism over the emergency procurement of malaria medicine. Member of Parliament Job Amupanda claimed the ministry paid N$1,500 per pack for 300 packs—three times the usual price. Amupanda alleged that middlemen were profiting from inflated prices. The ministry responded that four pharmaceutical suppliers were contacted, but only one, West Pharmaceuticals, could deliver within a week. The other companies had longer lead times and quoted either higher or similar prices. The ministry acknowledged that emergency procurement is not ideal but said it is sometimes necessary to maintain uninterrupted healthcare services.

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10 months ago

Rail upgrade tender requirements exclude local businesses – Naloba Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Namibia Local Business Association (Naloba) says a recent government tender under the Transport Infrastructure Improvement Project (TIIP) Phase II could block local businesses from participating due to a high bid security requirement. The tender, issued by the Ministry of Works and Transport on 15 April, is for the supply of 48 48kg/m rails and turnouts. It forms part of the upgrade of railway lines between Otjiwarongo and Tsumeb and between Otavi and Grootfontein. The project is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and follows the bank’s 2015 procurement framework through the open competitive bidding (international) method. Bidders are required to submit a bid security of N$33 million by 8 July at the ministry’s offices in Windhoek. Naloba, which represents local entrepreneurs, says the security requirement is too high and discourages Namibian-owned companies from applying. “Such security is too high for most locals, and it is limiting the participation. All businesses are tendering on their own regardless of membership; therefore, it is difficult to determine how many of them participated,” said Naloba spokesperson Marius Nangolo. He said the financial burden is a barrier and called for a review of existing procurement laws to support local participation. “The main challenges are laws that need to be changed to suit local participation in the economy,” Nangolo said. He also questioned the role of financial institutions in helping businesses access capital. “For instance, a higher bid security that exceeds what the locals can afford. Banks should secure suitable terms and conditions for tenders,” he added. The ministry said payments under the contract will be made using the bank’s direct payment disbursement method, unless a letter of credit is specified. Tender documents require disclosure of the successful bidder’s beneficial ownership as part of the bank’s transparency and accountability measures. Interested bidders can get additional information from the ministry’s procurement management unit. The project aims to modernise Namibia’s transport system and improve regional trade routes. Improvement is achieved by addressing bottlenecks in railway transport infrastructure that hinder the efficient delivery of rail services.

#Namibia #RailInfrastructure #LocalBusinesses #TenderProcess #EconomicDevelopment

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11 months ago

Parties demand strict tenderprocess as Govt opens wallet Political parties have called on the government to ensure fair, strict and transparent tender processes given the decision to increase the development budget to N$12.8 billion. They say this would stop the trend of “the same people” benefiting from big tenders. Landless People’s Movement spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa, who has welcomed the increase of the development budget by finance and social grants management minister Erica Shafudah, says tender inequality remains of concern. “Our concern is that there hasn’t been development factors on how to ensure local companies are benefiting and the economy is stimulated,” he says. Simataa says there have been incidents where tenders are absorbed by one individual or organisation without employing a significant number of people. “The process of tendering is quite important ..,” he says. Simaata is concerned over how the government would ensure an increased budget reaches all Namibians. He says strong mechanisms are needed to safeguard against wasting funds. The development budget should be decentralised to other regions and not only benefit the Khomas and Erongo regions, Simataa says. He believes regional economic stimulation could be the answer to unemployment. Meanwhile, Rally for Democracy and Progress president Mike Kavekotora approves of the increased development budget. “It’s about time to stimulate the economy through a bigger allocation to development projects. The development budget and tenderpreneurs are mutually exclusive,” he says. He, however, says president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration should distance itself from awarding tenders dubiously and should apply prudent measures to ensure a healthy return on investment on every dollar spent. Kavekotora urges Nandi-Ndaitwah to strive for a ratio of 40% developmental and 60% operational expenditure moving forward to stimulate the economy. Ministry of Finance and Social Grants Management spokesperson Wilson Shikoto says the current system includes clear measures to prevent mismanagement and misappropriation. “Accountability is placed on individuals, specifically executive directors and chief executives/managing directors of public entities as outlined in … the act,” he says. He says the law also ensures the segregation of duties, ensuring transparency, fairness and accountability. Shikoto says both procurement officials and bidders are held accountable. “Those engaging in corrupt practices face legal consequences, including arrest, charges, or suspension/debarment … In short, the current procurement framework has safeguards in place to prevent the misuse of public funds,” he says. United People’s Movement president Jan van Wyk says the sharp increase in the development budget was expected, considering the delays in the construction of various projects, such as the A1 road to the north, the new airport road and the construction of the B1 road to the south. “Not much of the billions would go towards local entrepreneurs as below standard projects are being used as an opportunity to shift projects to foreign contractors,” he says. Van Wyk says he is disappointed that a big chunk of the development budget is once again expected to be diverted to the operational budget during the midterm budget review. He says this is caused by the continued late release of funds to the various projects and a procurement system that does not speak to the reality on the ground. He says an expected 84% of the total development budget would go towards infrastructure development. The post Parties demand strict tenderprocess as Govt opens wallet appeared first on The Namibian.

#TenderProcess #GovernmentTransparency #DevelopmentBudget #EconomicStimulus #FairTendering

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MCR Pathways

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11 months ago

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