Full Story
Tender dispute based on speculation: Ministry
THE Ministry of Education and the Tender Board of Namibia have denied allegations of “gross irregularity” in the hostel catering tender process last year.
They maintain that pricing was the deciding factor in the tender allocations.
Alfred Ilukena, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and the chairman of the ministry’s Tender Committee, said in an answering affidavit to a High Court challenge of the tender allocation that complaints by Free Namibia Caterers “are based on unfounded speculation”.
Ilukena said in his answering affidavit on behalf of the Ministry of Education and the Tender Board that “the overriding consideration was price and Free Namibia Caterers’ price was simply too high for the region in question.”
The affidavit filed in the Windhoek High Court this week was in reply to the review application lodged by Free Namibia Caterers, requesting the court to award the tender to their company or alternatively to refer the matter back to the Tender Board to “properly apply the recommendations of the adjudication committee”.
Ilukena said Atlantic Food Services were awarded the hostel catering tender for the Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions because their price, of N$18,15 per child, was the lowest, while Free Namibia Caterers priced their services at N$22,48 per child.
Ilukena also noted that Free Namibia Caterers “conveniently fails to deal with its price”, in its founding affidavit.
He also denied allegations that a letter written by Atlantic Food Services shareholder, the Swapo Party Women’s Council, had played a role in awarding the tender.
“The letter by Swapo Women’s Council played no role whatsoever in the tender process. The applicant can provide no proof for this statement and is merely speculating. The main consideration was pricing.”
Ilukena said that the “Ministerial Tender Committee expressed its concern with the [Women’s Council] letter and disregarded the letter completely.”
He said the respondents “deny that these letters constitute inappropriate influence” and added that Free Namibia Caterers are “merely speculating” on the letter’s influence on the tender decisions.
Ilukena stated that even the Tender Committee was surprised that “information had leaked to the public” prior to the conclusion of the tender process, adding that the committee “had no regard to the letters in respect of the tender process”.
About the alleged disqualification of Atlantic Food Services, Ilukeni said that no company was disqualified at any point from the tender process.
He confirmed that although the adjudication committee “at first” recommended the disqualification of Atlantic Food Services, “the Ministerial Tender Committee however felt such disqualification was not necessary and the Tender Board agreed with this recommendation after deliberating same.”
He added that all recommendations from the adjudication committee “were in fact considered at length” but “the adjudication committee does not have the authority to disqualify any tenderer and its recommendations are purely that and carry no more or less weight.”
The disqualification was “overruled by the Ministerial Tender committee on the basis that there was nothing wrong with the performance bond, the tender bond and/or the overdraft facility provided.”
