Procurement board awards N$1.45bn contracts in 7 months

The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) says it awarded 37 procurement contracts valued at N$1.45 billion from April-October 2022.  

 Of these contracts, 97% were awarded to 100% Namibian-owned companies. 

Meanwhile, Chairperson of the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) Amon Ngavetene says poorly prepared documents are the root cause of delays in awarding tenders, as it becomes a strenuous process to validate applications. 

He told an engagement forum with Executive Directors and senior officials from various government Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs), amid a rife perception that the CPBN awarding process for tenders is questionable. 

“Public procurement is a delicate matter which is constantly under public scrutiny. Hence, it is only through collaboration, efficient and effective service delivery and most importantly applying ethical principles of public procurement as provided for in the Public Procurement Act  that public entities can change the negative perception that the public has on public procurement as it is perceived to be corrupt,” he said.

This comes as the CPBN has been accused in the past of delaying the implementation of procurement projects by public entities. 

Ngavetene told the gathering that this has never been the case or intentions for CPBN to delay procurement projects, “instead, CPBN strives to carry out the procurement process within the prescribed time as required by the PPA”.

“In an effort to create a better understanding and appreciation of CPBN procurement process, there are eight stages of the procurement cycle, which starts with the planning phase, the submission of Individual Procurement Plans (IPPs) and Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) by Public Entities to CPBN. It is during this phase of the procurement process that CPBN is experiencing challenges in the quality of submissions made to CPBN by Public Entities due to a lack of skills amongst staff members tasked to prepare such documents.  

“This situation has a negative impact on the procurement process as it causes delays in the completion of a procurement project on time. The entities were thus advised to invest in capacity building for their key staff members in their Procurement Management Units in order to shorten the procurement period.” he advised. 

The CPBN has procured goods and services worth N$18.96 billion since its inception in 2017 on behalf of public entities according to data shared in April.

 

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