Act amendment gives SOEs greater tender powers

The government has significantly raised the procurement thresholds at which public entities must involve the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN), allowing institutions to handle substantially larger contracts on their own.

The new thresholds, gazetted by finance minister Ericah Shafudah on 22 July and published in the Government Gazette on 4 August, allow selected high-value public entities to independently award contracts worth up to N$500 million for works and N$200 million for goods, consultancy and non-consultancy services.

The move comes after years of concerns over delays and capacity constraints within the centralised procurement system.

Under the Public Procurement Act, the CPBN was established to conduct bidding processes on behalf of public entities for contracts exceeding prescribed thresholds.

But the centralised model has faced persistent problems.

In 2018, barely a year after the CPBN began operating, it was reported that the board had not awarded a single contract, raising concerns about its ability to process government procurement efficiently. The previous Tender Board had, at its peak, handled procurement worth up to N$13 billion in the 2013/14 financial year.

The problems have continued. In 2025, the CPBN disclosed that some infrastructure projects awarded through its processes were running as much as 1,528 days behind schedule. The affected projects included schools, healthcare infrastructure and water projects.

The board has also acknowledged weaknesses within the bidding process. In March 2025, CPBN chairperson Mary Shiimi said more than half of bids submitted were being disqualified because of issues such as incomplete or incorrectly completed documents and late submissions. Between April 2017 and March 2024, however, the board had awarded N$11.8 billion in tenders to local businesses.

The latest regulations appear to respond, at least in part, to the need to give capable public entities greater room to procure directly.

Seven entities have been designated as high-value public entities, namely the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Namibia Ports Authority, NamPower, NamWater, Telecom Namibia, Roads Authority and TransNamib.

For these entities, the new ceiling for works is N$500 million. They can independently procure goods, consultancy services and non-consultancy services up to N$200 million.

The changes extend beyond the seven high-value entities.

Category 1 public entities – which include government ministries and agencies, Parliament, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), major municipalities, regional councils, the Bank of Namibia, Namcor subsidiaries, the Namibia Airports Company and the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) – may now independently procure goods up to N$45 million, works up to N$60 million, consultancy services up to N$35 million and non-consultancy services up to N$25 million.

Category 2 entities have thresholds of N$35 million for goods, N$55 million for works, N$30 million for consultancy services and N$20 million for non-consultancy services. Category 3 entities may procure goods up to N$30 million, works up to N$40 million, consultancy services up to N$20 million and non-consultancy services up to N$10 million.

The regulations nevertheless retain oversight mechanisms.

High-value entities must notify the Procurement Policy Unit when they undertake procurement exceeding the Category 1 thresholds and submit an individual procurement plan for approval at least seven days before advertising the procurement. They must also report on the execution of the plan and the awarded contract within seven days of the award. The Policy Unit may conduct compliance and contract audits.

The government has also revised the thresholds governing procurement methods. Open international bidding is required for goods exceeding N$45 million and works exceeding N$70 million. Restricted bidding may be used for procurements up to N$5 million, while requests for sealed quotations are limited to N$3 million. Small-value procurement is capped at N$30,000.

The changes come at a time when procurement compliance remains a challenge across the public sector. An IPPR review published in March found that only 26 of 176 public entities had submitted their 2026/27 annual procurement plans by 5 March, with just eight meeting the December 2025 deadline.

The reforms therefore represent a balancing act by giving large and presumably more capable public entities greater autonomy to move procurement faster, while retaining central oversight through procurement planning, reporting and audits.