Another setback for 5-year old’s N$1,3b tender

The High Court has ordered the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) not to sign a two-year contract worth N$1,3 billion with Cospharm Investment Pty Ltd for the supply of pharmaceuticals used in cancer treatment and psychotic disorders.

High Court judge Shafimana Ueitele yesterday issued an interdict in response to businessman Shapwa Kanyama’s concerns, through his company Africure Pharmaceutical, which is valid until the review process is completed.

This would give the judge time to consider the merits of the matter.

Ueitele instructed the CPBN and the review panel to provide Kanyama with a complete record of the proceedings related to the case by 15 November, including reasons for their decision.

The matter was postponed to 24 November.

Kanyama approached the High Court in September, asking for a temporary order to stop the new contracts from being put into action until the review process was completed.

Cospharm was among 22 bidders which were initially not selected for the tender on 23 April, when the tender was initially awarded.

The company was disqualified for failing to initial next to an overwritten mistake in its bid, and for not responding to the CPBN’s enquiries.

Cospharm has applied for reconsideration, and the CPBN has found merit in the application.

It was further discovered that Cospharm’s bid was the most economical in certain line items, leading to a reallocation of awarded products.

The review panel on 29 August dismissed Kanyama and ErongoMed’s review application and ordered the awarding of the tender to Cospharm.

“The public entity (CPBN) shall provide proof of implementation of this order to the Procurement Policy Unit within 30 days from the receipt date of this order. A copy of the proof should be sent to the review panel secretariat,” the panel said.

The ownership structure of Cospharm Investment has raised eyebrows, given a significant stake held by a five-year-old.

According to the share certificate, the child is Namibian, although the child’s parents are Zimbabwean.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security could not confirm the nationality of the child.

“Due to the policy of confidentiality and the protection of minors’ identity, the ministry is unable to disclose the identity of the child or other particulars of the child without the minor child’s parents’ consent,” executive director Etienne Maritz has said.

Swapo member of parliament Maureen Hinda-Mbuende has raised concerns about the moral implications of awarding a medical tender to a company of which a minor is the majority owner.

She has questioned the basis on which the child’s father had obtained power of attorney over the child’s shares and how the company’s board of directors was appointed, given the majority shareholder’s minor status.

The Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters have also condemned the CPBN for awarding Cospharm a N$1,3 billion pharmaceutical supply tender.

The party’s deputy president, Kalimbo Iipumbu, also questioned whether Zimbabwe’s procurement system would allow a Zimbabwean tender to be given to a five-year-old Namibian child.