IPPR warns procurement bill exemptions risk abuse and corruption

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has warned that the widespread use of the exemption changes in the public procurement amendment bill is a step backwards and exposes the system to abuse and corruption.

The IPPR launched its latest procurement tracker report yesterday.

IPPR research associate Frederico Links says the looming widespread use of exemptions to bypass competitive bidding processes is primarily politically driven.

“With this new institutional make-up, the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) is effectively dislodged as the centre-piece of the public procurement system and the Procurement Policy Unit is relegated to a mere advisory role to the finance minister,” reads the report.

The procurement policy and regulation formulation, implementation and enforcement will primarily fall to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, which is proposed to be an independent entity.

“However, this independence is questionable given that the text states that the finance minister will appoint the head of the entity and that other matters related to the mandate of the entity will also be subject to the approval of the minister,” the report notes.

IPPR said given that the bill is still a draft for consultation, it is foreseen that this confusion or contradiction will have been ironed out in the final substantive draft.

The proposed changes are detailed in the public procurement amendment bill of 2025, which was being circulated for public consultation during September and October.

IPPR said the bill formalises an already dysfunctional procurement system, potentially paving the way for politicised, opaque, and discretionary decision-making in the awarding of contracts.

“In all of this, what should not be lost sight of is the intrinsic admission that the Namibian public procurement system is dysfunctional and ineffective as a result of how it has been implemented since April 2017,” IPPR said.

The Swapo implementation plan openly calls for state institutions to apply for exemptions under Section 4 (2) of the Public Procurement Act of 2015 – as amended in 2022 – to expedite service delivery.

The strategy paper argues that “swift approval of all procurement contracts” is necessary to meet development targets and explicitly states that all lead implementing ministries must seek exemption from the act to do so.

This approach is now finding legal expression in section 5 of the new amendment bill, which grants public entities the right to request exemptions from procurement rules, while section 6 gives the minister of finance sweeping discretionary powers to make procurement policy, including the authority to issue such exemptions.

“Both the use of ministerial exemptions and emergency procurement effectively amount to purchases and contracting that bypass fair, competitive bidding and established adjudication processes,” says one legal expert familiar with the matter.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services’ procurement of medical and pharmaceutical supplies including under so-called emergency provisions is cited as a recent example where exemptions and direct contracting have been used to avoid scrutiny.

IPPR said such exemptions are often justified under the guise of urgency or national interest, but in practice, they lead to backroom deals, inflated prices, and supply chain inefficiencies.

“Exemptions can be used for personal gratification where integrity systems are weak and accountability mechanisms underdeveloped.

“Ministerial exemptions are fertile soils for all sorts of conflicts of interest.”

Namibia is not alone in facing such challenges. Across Africa and the Global South, similar procurement loopholes have been exploited for political gain or personal enrichment, resulting in billion-dollar scandals and eroded public trust.

IPPR suggested that Namibian authorities study international case studies before enacting the proposed bill. At the heart of the debate is the question of whether the proposed exemptions are a legitimate tool for development or a backdoor for political patronage.

“Discretionary decision-making powers in the hands of political actors open up avenues for questionable and politicised channelling of procurement opportunities,” warns a governance analyst.

Should the amendment bill pass without strong safeguards, it would allow ministries to directly appoint contractors for virtually any goods or services, often without the need for public calls for tenders or competitive vetting.

Nearly half of Namibia’s public entities failed to submit their annual procurement plans for the 2025/26 financial year on time, raising concerns about compliance and transparency in the country’s public procurement system.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa says the ACC has investigated and is currently investigating cases where government officials misuse exemptions.

“You find a person giving a fraudulent tender under false principles of the emergency procurement process. You know very well that the service is not urgent. That’s fraud. We have investigated and we are investigating those cases,” Noa says.

Former CPBN chairperson Amon Ngavetene says there is nothing wrong with the current public procurement act. He says the problem is the current culture and the misinterpretation of the law.

He adds that it is not healthy to entrust power in one person, adding that the current implementer might be principled and trustworthy but their successors may abuse the law.

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