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Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - Web posted at 10:08:38 GMT Red tape, 'briefcase' firms blamed as 345 000 people wait CHRISPIN INAMBAO in WINDHOEK and OSWALD SHIVUTE in OSHAKATIBUREAUCRACY and the awarding of tenders to companies with little or no capacity to distribute food aid have been identified as delaying food relief reaching tens of thousands of hungry Namibians. |
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The Namibian established yesterday that emergency food relief has not yet been delivered to drought-affected people countrywide. More than 345 000 Namibians are estimated to need food aid as a result of the drought. It is now months since Government promised aid to Namibians in drought-hit areas. Cabinet approved N$140,2 million for food relief and other necessities last month already. And 10 days have passed since the last 'delivery deadline' - Monday a week ago - given by the Emergency Management Unit which falls under the Prime Minister's office. While the Tender Board in the Ministry of Finance yesterday said it had awarded tenders to 16 companies to distribute drought relief, most regions said they were still waiting to be notified about the companies engaged. It also emerged that some companies granted tenders lacked the infrastructure and capacity to deliver on time. Firms cited include two Okahandja-based companies which landed a contract to supply edible oil after they outbid other contenders. The two firms were awarded a contract worth about N$10 million to supply 1 000 metric tonnes of vegetable oil. The firms are now understood to be attempting to buy the oil from one of the firms they outbid. Yesterday the Tender Board declined to make public the names of the successful tenderers. Meriam Onesmus, the Secretary of the Tender Board, told The Namibian that the drought relief distribution tenders were awarded to the firms "with the lowest specifications ... if their price was high obviously they did not get the tender ... it's an open and fair competition". Onesmus said "empowerment" was also considered in allocating the tenders. But the Tender Board chief said should any of the companies awarded the tenders "fail to deliver, there are measures that can be taken (against such companies)". Onesmus said so far the Tender Board had not received reports of a selected company failing to deliver. At Katima Mulilo, Dobson Kamwi, a rural development planner involved in drought relief exercise, said: "The crisis is there. People are complaining about the delays but we cannot help it because of this bureaucracy." He said some suppliers responsible for maize meal had promised to distribute by today, while the Office of the Prime Minister would distribute fish and cooking oil. Kamwi said the maize meal deliveries had been delayed because the bags in which food was supposed to be distributed had not yet had an important message printed on them. "The bags are supposed to be printed with words 'drought relief aid, not for sale'," he said. In the Otjozondjupa Region, where 21 000 people are in need of drought relief, only one truck load of 12,5 kg bags of maize meal had been delivered to a warehouse by yesterday. Tiranus Tshishome, Senior Chief Control Officer at the Regional Office at Otjiwarongo in Otjozondjupa, said so far only one firm out of a handful had reported to his office. "There is still a long way to go because up to now we don't have the fish, cooking oil. We are still waiting for other food commodities to come," he said. Jesaya Nashilongo, the acting Control Officer for the Omusati Region, said suppliers from Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto were not on the list of successful bidders . He said the Omusati Region had not yet received drought relief food. |
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