The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has warned that Namibia’s proposed expansion of ministerial exemptions under the Public Procurement Amendment Bill, 2025 could undermine the integrity of public procurement, weaken oversight, and erode public trust in government.
In its latest Procurement Tracker Namibia, the IPPR said the bill and the Swapo Party Manifesto Implementation Plan (SMIP) both promote the wider use of exemptions to speed up project delivery, allowing ministries to bypass open bidding and directly award contracts.
According to the report, this approach risks turning procurement into a politically driven process rather than one guided by fairness, competition and accountability.
“The proposals to enable the extensive use of the ministerial exemption in order to fast-track development delivery loom as a threat not only to the integrity of the public procurement system as a whole, but also to effective service delivery and public trust in government,” the IPPR stated.
The think tank noted that the SMIP explicitly calls for ministries and implementing agencies to apply for exemptions from the Public Procurement Act to ensure “swift approval” of contracts, which would allow government to directly appoint suppliers, contractors and service providers without going through competitive tendering.
The IPPR cautioned that such a system would concentrate decision-making power in the hands of political actors and senior officials, increasing the risk of favouritism, conflicts of interest and corruption.
The Procurement Tracker further noted that Sections 5 and 6 of the amendment bill would give the Minister of Finance broad discretionary powers to grant exemptions and formulate procurement policies. In practical terms, the IPPR said this could result in entire categories of public spending escaping scrutiny.
“Both the use of ministerial exemptions and emergency procurement effectively amount to specific purchases bypassing competitive bidding and established adjudication processes,” the report said.
The organisation cited international case studies showing that such exemptions are “fertile soils for conflicts of interest” and warned that Namibia risks repeating its past mistakes.
Reviews by the Procurement Policy Unit (PPU) and the IPPR found that between 2017 and 2020, non-competitive procurement under emergency and exempted conditions led to widespread abuse and probable waste of state resources.
“Since the introduction of the Public Procurement Act of 2015, the issue of ministerial exemptions has continued to be a highly sensitive and concerning one,” the IPPR said.
