The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) says it has awarded N$8.1 billion worth of tenders with contracts valued at N$7.1 billion awarded to local companies.
In total, CPBN awarded 32 procurement projects (competitive and direct procurements) to the value of N$8.1 billion from 1 April 2023 to date.
CBPN Acting Administrator, Head and Chairperson Amon Ngavetene said the procurement body had recorded a significant increase in the number of procurement awards during the period under review.
“This translates into the award of 92 contracts because of the lot allocation system promoted by the Board for inclusivity purposes. This is in comparison to 23 procurement projects awarded in the 2022-2023 financial year to the value of N$2.3 billion, representing an increase of 71%,” he said.
CPBN said 20 contracts were awarded through open advertised bidding to the value of N$7.2 billion in comparison to the same number of awards to the value of N$2.2 billion last year, representing a 69% increase in the value of awards.
Furthermore, two contracts were awarded through restricted bidding to the value of N$15 million compared to one contract awarded in the 2022-2023 financial year to the value of N$30 million, representing a decrease of 48% in the value awarded.
“There was an increase in the number of procurement contracts awarded through Direct Procurement from 2 contracts awarded during the 2022-2023 financial year to the value of N$89 million in comparison to 8 procurement contracts awarded in the financial year under-reporting to the value of N$904 million, representing a 90% increase,” he said in terms direct procurement.
Meanwhile, during the period under review, the Board has observed instances of delayed payment of invoices for consultant teams.
Although these teams are not directly appointed by CPBN, the non/delayed payment of their invoices significantly impacts the execution of contracts awarded by CPBN.
“This delay leads to a lack of supervision for works, potentially resulting in the approval of poor workmanship. CPBN has been made aware of cases where consultants are unable to conduct quality assurance and testing on site due to non-payment, leading to work approvals based solely on exchanged pictures via email and WhatsApp,” said Ngavetene.
To mitigate this challenge, CPBN urged responsible entities such as the Ministry of Education, Art and Culture, and the Department of Works of the Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT), as well as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) like NTA, to streamline the invoice approval processes and ensure timely payments.
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) suggests establishing effective communication channels to keep consultants and contractors informed about the status of their invoices.
Furthermore, CPBN (M&E and EPU) is exploring potential solutions to address this issue in the future.
This includes the possibility of appointing consultant teams directly for our projects to ensure greater accountability.
“Alternatively, we may consider incorporating the roles of the MoWT directly into our contracts to streamline the supervision and payment processes to enhance efficiency, accountability, and the overall quality of our projects,” noted Ngavetene.
During the period under reporting, CPBN was monitoring 146 contract implementations.
