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Tuesday, February 27, 2001 - Web posted at 9:30:36 AM GMT Govt tenders in doubt THE validity of hundreds of Government contracts awarded over the past few years was cast in doubt yesterday during a court challenge to the allocation of the contract to distribute State pensions. It emerged that the Tender Board has not been complying with the law concerning the advertising of tenders. The Tender Board stopped advertising tender invitations in the Government Gazette sometime before Tender Board Secretary Meriam Onesmus assumed her post in October 1998, although the law required it to advertise in that publication and a newspaper. This was revealed by Onesmus in an affidavit yesterday received by lawyers acting for two unsuccessful bidders engaged in an attack in the High Court on the 1999 awarding of a three-year contract for the distribution of State pensions to United Africa (Namibia). Onesmus's disclosure came at the start of the hearing of applications from spurned tenderers Cash Paymaster Services, which previously held the pension pay-out contract, and JMS Investments CC, to have the Tender Board's decision to award the tender to United Africa (Namibia) set aside. Having heard opposing arguments on the meaning of the Board's non-compliance with the law's requirements for advertising tender invitations, Judge Sylvester Mainga is set to provisionally rule on the matter today. His decision could have far-reaching implications for hundreds - if not thousands, according to Onesmus - of Government contracts awarded over the past few years. If Judge Mainga upholds arguments submitted by senior counsel Pieter Henning, for Cash Paymaster Services, and Reinhard Toetemeyer, for JMS Investments CC, that failure to comply with the letter of the law means that actions which followed on the non-compliance are illegal and invalid, it could see all the wrongly-advertised awarded tenders become void. On the other side of the case Judge Mainga has arguments from Government Attorney Vicki Erenstein ya Toivo, representing the Tender Board, and Dave Smuts, for United Africa (Namibia), to weigh up. They submitted that the law had been "substantially complied" with, and that the purpose of the legislation - to have tender invitations advertised - was met as required, so that the Board's failure to advertise in the Government Gazette did not have to result in such tenders having been invalid. The tender bid by United Africa (Namibia) for the delivery of monthly pensions to some 90 000 State pensioners was at N$17,7 million a year the second lowest received by the Tender Board. Cash Paymaster Services' tender of N$20,4 million a year was the third lowest. Beating out both in terms of cost, was the N$15,6 million a year bid by JMS Investments CC. A tender panel of the Ministry of Health and Social Services which considered the bids recommended that the contract be awarded to JMS. However, the Tender Board decided to award the contract to United Africa (Namibia) instead, citing as a reason JMS Investments' "association with certain individuals who had engaged in wrongdoing in connection with the tender in the previous round" in March 1999, when all the bidders were disallowed because of defects in their tenders. After their initially favourably nod to JMS Investments, the Health Ministry's tender panel later also recommended to the Tender Board that it blacklist JMS Investments CC, who went on to lose the contract. |
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