Cancelling health tenders ‘costly’

Both the ministry of health and the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) have warned that cancelling the medical supplies tenders that have evoked public emotion recently would prove to be an expensive mistake.CPBN said there is neither legal nor moral basis to cancel the tenders, adding that even President Hage Geingob - who has been roundly urged to intervene - has no direct authority to do so.The CPBN’s administrative head Amon Ngavetene, speaking on The Evening Review on Monday, said cancelling the bids would result in the ministry of health having to employ emergency bidding for medical supplies, resulting in higher costs.He added that the cancellation of the airport tender – which many are using as an example that Geingob must replicate – was a different matter that had no urgency.“The president can cancel the airport tender because there is no airport and we can continue to live with what we have, but with respect to health, people are getting sick. There are a number of people who will need these things [medical supplies].”Opposition parties have called on Geingob to intervene and cancel the controversial tender awards, including procurement of condoms for N$111 million.“There is no economic or political sense to spend millions on gloves and condoms while you have a health crisis where there is no blood pressure medicine in hospitals; where you have infrastructure lapses; while kids are going to school dripping wet from rain, and yet this government thinks it is appropriate to spend this money,” Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani said.Huge implicationsAccording to health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula, while they cannot interfere with the tender - which is being independently handled by CPBN - cancelling it would have huge implications on the operations of the ministry and patient outcomes.Shangula, who has rejected accusations of insider trading and collusion in the ministry’s procurement process, made the remarks following the contentious awarding of massive tenders to Amnics Trading, owned by businessman Shapwa Kanyama.“It simply means people don’t understand how procurement works. The ministry identified that we need this and that supply, then we send that to the finance ministry,” he explained.“The policy unit in the finance ministry then [completes] the documentation, which they send to the central procurement board, who advertises and receives the bids, and they decide who to give the tender to.“Now, I don’t know why collusion would occur unless you say someone at the ministry tells a supplier we are going to have this tender, so prepare yourself. But even if that happens, the tender is out in the public. This is simply a perception with no basis,” he said.Shangula added: “The ministry did not advertise this tender, although the goods are meant for the ministry. And this tender has many items apart from condoms. These items are used in wards, in theatre during operations, in maternity wards and in many other health settings.”jemima@namibiansun.com

Cancelling health tenders ‘costly’

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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Cancelling health tenders ‘costly’

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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