Unmasked: The face behind new N$445m health tenders

Controversial businessman Shapwa Kanyama has emerged the owner of Amnics Trading, the company that won three lucrative medical supply tenders from the ministry of health - including one valued at N$416.7 million, a staggering N$265.8 million more than the next highest bidder.Amnics Trading previously belonged to Dr Vikramkumar Naik, a Zimbabwean-born pharmaceutical businessman who is currently a Namibian national, and Taiwanese-born South African national Chun-Yen Wu.Naik and Chun-Yen, who both owned 50% in Amnics, sold the company to Kanyama towards the end of 2021, but documents at the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) still show the two men as the directors of the company.“I am aware of the bid, but I have nothing to do with Amnics Trading,” Naik said yesterday, distancing himself from the tender.“I sold my shares in December 2021. Bipa is not up to date. We sold the company to a gentleman called Kanyama,” he added.For years, Kanyama has been fighting allegations of corruption related to his companies’ medical supplies sold to the ministry.Last July, he filed a lawsuit against a nurse - Mathilde Kadhikwa - after she alleged in a widely circulated audio clip that Kanyama, who had just had a lavish wedding two months earlier, was committing financial crimes and unlawfully pocketing government money while public health facilities lacked basic supplies due to a lack of funds.Through his lawyer Sisa Namandje, Kanyama said Kadhikwa’s comments were defamatory, wrongful and infringed on his name, dignity, fame, credit and reputation.In June last year, Kanyama was quoted in Confidente rebuffing similar allegations - saying he has other income streams from various businesses, including construction.Amnics gets all tendersAll three tenders Amnics won were well above their competitors’ pricing, prompting questions on why cheaper bids were overlooked in all instances. The tenders were awarded by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN), which has since been under pressure to explain publicly how it arrived to such award rulings.Namibian Sun is reliably informed that a high-level meeting is scheduled at CPBN today to discuss the issue.CPBN has ducked media questions regarding the matter so far.Amnics, according to its CC2 form held at Bipa, describes itself as a manufacturer and supplier of disposable hygiene and pharmaceutical goods.Huge pricing differencesThe company won bids to supply the ministry with disposable surgical gloves valued at N$416.7 million, which is N$265.8 million more than the second bidder.The ministry invited bids for the supply and delivery of a wide array of clinical supplies. CPBN received 90 bids from locally registered companies.Amnics 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.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.Kanyama respondsKanyama confirmed owning Amnics, but said he had received no notification that he won the three bids.“I just saw something circulating but I was not informed that we were awarded anything. I don’t work at CPBN; I don’t know how they award bids.”He added that it was up to the CPBN to justify the awarding of bids.“I submitted my documents, but I can’t justify it. The right person to ask is CPBN.”Namibian Sun understands aggrieved bidders have until today to object to the tender awards.Ministry passes the buckThe health ministry has washed its hands of the tender awards, saying CPBN dealt with the matters independently.“The Procurement Act is structured to empower public entities to carry out procurement. If the law empowers CPBN to do certain things, it is for them to do just that. The ministry doesn’t interfere in decisions taken by CPBN,” Ben Nangombe, the ministry’s executive director, said.“We are not allowed to interfere with the work of CPBN. Unless a public institution receives exemption on motivated grounds, that procurement is handled by CPBN,” he added.Nangombe also questioned the figure Namibian Sun quoted over the surgical gloves bid in question.“The figure being bundled around, I don’t know if that is the correct figure,” he said.Nangombe further justified the high price of the bid, saying surgical gloves were a fast-moving good and in demand.“Gloves are moving items and it can also happen that gloves the ministry had reached their expiration date. In these times, gloves are fast-moving items and we need to protect health workers,” he said.CPBN is expected to pronounce itself today, its spokesperson Johanna Kambala told Namibian Sun earlier this week.

Unmasked: The face behind new N$445m health tenders

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Unmasked: The face behind new N$445m health tenders

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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