Women make up the majority of applicants seeking to serve on the Central Procurement Board of Namibia’s (CPBN’s) bid evaluation committee.
The CPBN received 422 applications, of which 235 (56%) were submitted by women and 187 (44%) by men.
CPBN stakeholder relations manager Johanna Kambala says the strong response reflects growing public confidence in Namibia’s public procurement system.
“The overwhelming response demonstrates growing public confidence in the integrity of Namibia’s public procurement system and underscores the willingness of qualified professionals to contribute their expertise towards strengthening transparency, accountability and good governance in public procurement,” Kambala said on Thursday.
She said the response follows reforms introduced by the CPBN earlier this year to strengthen the appointment process for bid evaluation committee members.
Under the Public Procurement Act, the CPBN appoints members of the bid evaluation committee, including representatives nominated by public entities.
The committee is made up of suitably qualified members of the public who are independent of the institutions whose bids they assess.
The committees evaluate bids handled by the CPBN in line with procurement laws and procedures before submitting reports and recommendations to the board for adjudication.
Kambala said the verification and assessment of all applications are now underway.
She added that shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a compulsory five-day training programme followed by a competency assessment.
“Only applicants who successfully complete both stages will be added to the CPBN bid evaluation committee database and become eligible for future appointments,” she added.
She said successful applicants are expected to be notified towards the end of August.
The training will be conducted in partnership with the Namibia University of Science and Technology and forms part of the qualification process for enlistment on the CPBN bid evaluation committee database.
