No decision yet on school food fight

AN urgent application in the High Court to set aside a Tender Board decision to take away a hospital catering contract from Global Foods and award it to Independence Caterers was yesterday postponed until July 31 for technical reasons.

Counsel for the applicant, Susan Viviers, said they asked for the matter to be postponed to allow the Tender Board review process to take place first. Acting Judge John Manyarara on Friday postponed the application in order to give the respondents – the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Tender Board and Independence Caterers – time to respond to serious charges levelled against them by Global Foods MD Lourens Erasmus.The catering tender for nine hospitals situated across north-central Namibia was allegedly unilaterally cancelled by the Tender Board last month and immediately awarded to Independence Caterers.Permanent Secretary of Health and Social Services Dr Kalumbi Shangula earlier this week said that reports that he cancelled the report were erroneous.”The tender was cancelled by the Tender Board, not by my Ministry,” he said in a brief telephonic interview.Industry experts noted that even if Global Foods’ urgent application was granted, it would amount to a hollow victory: the contract, renewed for an extra two years since granted in 2002, was at any rate set to expire at the end of the month.Viviers yesterday confirmed that this was also the view of her clients at this stage.Meanwhile, Erasmus has confirmed that the hospital tender (A13-41/2002) was extended for another six months at Friday’s Tender Board meeting – with Independence Caterers now handling the contract.Independence, via its Catering Association of Namibia affiliates, now has a near-monopoly on all school hostel, hospital and teacher training college tenders, in spite of a Tender Board regulation that no single company may hold more than two regions of any given State catering contract.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist; 081 240 1587Acting Judge John Manyarara on Friday postponed the application in order to give the respondents – the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Tender Board and Independence Caterers – time to respond to serious charges levelled against them by Global Foods MD Lourens Erasmus.The catering tender for nine hospitals situated across north-central Namibia was allegedly unilaterally cancelled by the Tender Board last month and immediately awarded to Independence Caterers.Permanent Secretary of Health and Social Services Dr Kalumbi Shangula earlier this week said that reports that he cancelled the report were erroneous.”The tender was cancelled by the Tender Board, not by my Ministry,” he said in a brief telephonic interview.Industry experts noted that even if Global Foods’ urgent application was granted, it would amount to a hollow victory: the contract, renewed for an extra two years since granted in 2002, was at any rate set to expire at the end of the month.Viviers yesterday confirmed that this was also the view of her clients at this stage.Meanwhile, Erasmus has confirmed that the hospital tender (A13-41/2002) was extended for another six months at Friday’s Tender Board meeting – with Independence Caterers now handling the contract.Independence, via its Catering Association of Namibia affiliates, now has a near-monopoly on all school hostel, hospital and teacher training college tenders, in spite of a Tender Board regulation that no single company may hold more than two regions of any given State catering contract. * John Grobler is a freelance journalist; 081 240 1587