The Bidding environment in Namibia has the following players:
Buyers
Sellers
Regulators
Government Ministries Government Agencies Regional CouncilsVillage, Town Councils and Municipalities NGO’s and Professional Bodies State-Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) Private Companies(including mines)
Private Companies SME’s International Firms(South African, Chinese, etc)
Procurement Policy Unit Central Procurement Board
The Government is the biggest buyer of goods and services in Namibia and with the introduction of the Procurement Act 15 of 2015, all purchases within the government are done through the policies, strategies and guidelines stipulated in the act. The main objective of the act is to streamline government procurement in order to create a competitive environment that will allow the procurement of quality goods and services at the best price the market can offer in a transparent process that will give all market players equal opportunity.
All companies big or small operating in Namibia will to at one point or another engage in the bidding process if they are to remain competitive as even small value purchases such as toner, water and other miscellaneous purchases are done through a formal process as stipulated in the act.
Government Ministries, agencies and SOE’s are guided by the Procurement Act 15 of 2015 through which the central procurement board was formed. Many private buyers and NGO’s however have their own preferred method of procurement, guided by company policies, government regulations and other factors.
Though the requirements, processes may vary from company to company or institution to institution the underlying guidelines used and the best practice are those of the Procurement Act and therefore very similar.
Popular Tendering Categories in Namibia
Construction-Roads, Buildings, Civil and Structural Projects
Professional Services (Auditing, Accounting, Legal, business, etc.)
Stationery and Office Supplies
Installation and servicing of air cons
Financial Services (insurance, medical aid, pension funds)
Electrification and related services
Security services, cleaning services, plumping
Mining services
Supply or vehicles and vehicle parts
Health and pharmaceuticals
Can you think of other popular categories?
Popular Buyers
Procurement Board of Namibia: All purchases by government ministries or agencies above the threshold prescribed for public entities are done through the central procurement board.
GIZ
Mines
Municipalities, Regional and Local Authorities
Government Ministries (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Industrialization, Ministry of Finance…)
MTC
DBN
Central Bank of Namibia
Banks: First National Bank, Bank Windhoek, Standard Bank, etc
Namcor
Nampower
NTA
Cran
SACU
UNAM
NUST
City of Windhoek
Dundee
Namibia Post and Telecommunications Company
Electricity Control Board
NAC
Can you think of other popular buyers?
Challenges faced by the player’s within the procurement space in Namibia
Buyers
Disqualification of more experienced bidders due to strict disqualification guidelines, e.g, a much more experienced bidder can be disqualified due to an uncertified identity document of one of the owners
Slower lead time in the procurement of goods due to the various stages, conditions and approvals each bidding process takes.
Lack of training on the use of the procurement act and its practical application within the government
Sellers
Costly: The cost of acquiring tendering documents and the preparation of bids can be costly, smaller firms with smaller to no marketing budget are therefore excluded from the process
Lengthy and sometimes confusing documentation
Competition from bigger organizations and international firms who benefit from economies of scale pose a threat to the competitiveness of smaller companies. They are then forced to submit unrealistic bids which can impact their ability to provide the products or services as per the contract.
Lack of skills within organizations in bid preparation which leads to disqualification of bids
Until the introduction of the new Procurement Act tendering was perceived as the domain of the corrupt and connected businessmen, politicians and companies. Government could procure services directly from service providers and bigger and well established businesses did not see the need to tender. However, the act has levelled the playing field and all businesses big and small, briefcase or not are undertaking the bidding process.