THE Anti-Corruption Commission has concluded its investigation into suspected irregularities with the Neckartal Dam tender.
Nelius Becker, head of investigations at the Anti-Corruption Commission, last night confirmed that they had forwarded the report to the office of the Prosecutor General for a decision.The ACC started the probe earlier this year after the first tendering process was marred by allegations that some permanent secretaries had been paid by some companies to swing the job in their direction. Recently the tender documents were sent back to the Ministry of Agriculture after some permanent secretaries on the Tender Board argued for the inclusion of more companies qualifying to construct this multi-billion-dollar dam in southern Namibia.Even a special Tender Board meeting, which took place towards the end of last month, with only the Neckartal tender on its agenda, could not prevent another delay in the process.It seems that it is moving in the same direction as the first round of bids submitted to the Tender Board in December last year, which was the subject of the ACC investigation.During the first round the Permanent Secretary of the National Planning Commission, Andries Leevi-Hungamo, was fighting for awarding the tender to China Henan International Group, while the then Agriculture, Water and Forestry Permanent Secretary, Andrew Ndishishi, was of the opinion that the Italian company Impregilo SPA would be a better choice. This forced the Agriculture Ministry to re-advertise the tender and 23 companies from all over the world tendered for the pre-qualification phase. This time China Henan International Group was not one of the bidders, while the Italian company again submitted a bid.Six other Chinese companies were among the bidders, while five South African, two Italian, two Portuguese, one Moroccan, Russian, Indian and a Namibian company also submitted bids. During the first round last year, the Ministry of Agriculture shortlisted five companies, while this time, only three companies were on the shortlist.The chairperson of the Tender Board, Ericah Shafudah, confirmed that the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry has to resubmit the pre-qualification tender of the Neckartal Dam on September 7. This means that the construction of the dam will only start next year.
