Medical gloves tender winner N$265m more expensive than next bidder

A local company has won bids to supply the ministry of health with disposable surgical gloves valued at N$416.7 million, which is N$265.8 million more than the second bidder.

This information is contained in a bid evaluation report by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN).

The ministry invited bids for the supply and delivery of a wide array of clinical supplies. CPBN received 90 bids from locally registered companies.

The company in question, Amnics Trading, outbid two others - Fresh Unit Medical Supplies, which submitted a N$150.9 million bid and was chosen as a first alternative, and second alternative Trion Technology Solutions, which submitted a N$193.2 million bid - to supply 7.5-sized gloves.

Other bids

Amnics also outbid two other companies, Trion and MMED Investments, for the supply of size 8 disposable surgical gloves, submitting a N$20.8 million bid, N$11.1 million more than the second alternative bidder - Trion - that had submitted a N$9.96 million bid.

MMED had submitted a N$12 million bid.

The company won a third bid despite pricing it N$3.35 million above the second alternative bidder for the supply of size 8.5-sized surgical gloves.

The report showed that Amnics won a bid to supply the ministry with gloves, despite pricing its bid at N$6.25 million, with the second closest bid priced at N$2.89 million by Trion. MMED, which submitted a N$3.61 million bid, was selected as the second alternative.

The CPBN opened bids to majority-owned local companies.

“This bid is for entities incorporated in Namibia with no less than 51% equity that is owned by Namibian citizens, of which no less than 30% is owned by previously disadvantaged persons,” it said.

The board’s spokesperson Johanna Kambala yesterday declined to comment on the perceived disparities, saying the award documents were “self-explanatory”.