Nandi-Ndaitwah supports tender court

Vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says there is a need for a special court to deal with tender disputes.

She said this at the official opening of the Environmental Crimes Court at Otjiwarongo on Monday.

The vice president said it pains her that hospitals do not have medicine as a result of tender disputes.

“Chief justice, together with the prosecutor general, I want you to look into these issues very seriously. Can’t we have special courts to deal with tender disputes?” she asked.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said while tenders are being contested, service delivery is affected.

“A classic example is that of medicine – the essential commodities which are a matter of life and death. I honestly ask you, chief justice, if you and your team can look into this as a matter of urgency so that tender issues are disposed of immediately for us to provide Namibians the best service,” she said.

She said although Namibians are law-abiding citizens, regulations often work against them.

“But since that is what we have set for ourselves, let us proceed that way. I am happy to see a special court on environmental and natural resource crimes.

“But I would like to see more specialised courts coming up in this country,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

“When I listened to the report of the prosecutor general, I was even more convinced that when you have special courts your productivity is high.”.

The vice president said although the establishment of special courts affetcs the national budget, she believes “democracy is expensive”.

“We must know that democracy is expensive. I know the minister of justice is going to fight in the Cabinet for more personnel to run these courts, more professionals, and more specialisations, but as Namibians we must be ready to pay for that, because we want the best services,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

She said she is aware of the staff special courts would require, however, the nation must be committed to getting the best service.

“We should not complain about the Namibia Revenue Agency, but just give what is required so we have resources to take care of all our needs and provide quality service.”

‘NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE’

Central Procurement Board of Namibia chairperson Amon Ngavetene said there is a need for a new regulation to see a rise in the tender bidding bar.

This would help with the selection of capable bidders, he said.

“People will always come up with these disputes for as long as there is constant emphasis on the fair administration of tenders. Whether there is a special court or not,” he said.

Ngavetene said this would still provide a space for disputing tenders and would prolong the procurement process.

“Having a tender tribunal is not different from what the review panel is doing. Normally it takes two weeks for the panel to give feedback and make a judgment, so what is different from that tender tribunal?” he asked.