Girl (5) scoops N$1.3bn health tender

The Central Procurement Board of Namibia’s (CPBN) decision to award a N$1.3 billion contract to a company majority-owned by a five-year-old girl is intensifying scrutiny of a lucrative pharmaceutical supply contract poised to be finalised in the coming weeks.

The fact that the company – Cospharm Investments (Pty) Ltd – was initially eliminated from the race and then bounced back to win it has made the matter even more contentious.

It won the bid to supply and deliver pharmaceutical products for the health ministry, which attracted 26 submissions, with 12 companies eliminated from the onset after failing to comply with certain administrative requirements as well as failing to submit mandatory documents.

Reconsidered

Cospharm was one of the bidders not selected for the award, as per a CPBN notice for selection of procurement award dated 26 April 2023. The company was initially disqualified from the selection process after it was found that it made an overwriting of the bid price on the bid submission form without initialling next to the overwriting.

Cospharm is owned by Zimbabwean businessman Cosmos Mukaratirwa (49%) and his child, a Namibian citizen, who holds 51% of the shares, according to company records.

The child's name cannot be disclosed due to their age.

Cospharm subsequently asked the board to reconsider its decision, a move that subsequently led to it being awarded a N$1.3 billion supply contract, which is now being challenged by other bidders.

Mukaratirwa was thrust into the public limelight about three years ago when he was arrested for allegedly selling unregistered medicine worth N$657 800 to the ministry of health. He was released on a warning.

Board aware

CPBN chairperson Amon Ngavetene said the board is fully aware that the majority shareholder of the company is a minor Namibian, something on which the board deliberated before deciding to sanction the award.

"Yes, 51% needs to be a Namibian, but in this case the five-year old does not have any power to enter into a contract. We deliberated on it, and what would then happen is that the minority shareholder, who is the father, has guardianship and is then issued with the power of attorney. I don’t know whether he stays here or in South Africa, but be that as it may, it was an open international bid," he said.

When asked what measures they have in place to make sure foreign bidders do not use locals as fronts to land public contracts reserved for Namibians, Ngavetene said this would put too much of a burden on CPBN and that they have their limitations.

"Now this would mean we would have to verify addresses and even have to find out whether the shareholders are still alive or whether they have paid their taxes. If there is a legitimate document before us, we consider it."

Ngavetene, who said Cospharm was eventually awarded the tender because their prices were significantly lower than the other bidders, struggled to answer whether the prices submitted initially were the same as those in the amended document.

Initially, he said, Cospharm brought back the corrected documents but made a U-turn and said the corrected document was part of the first submission that was disqualified based on the mistakes made.

"They had made initials over the numbers, and then they retyped the whole letter and submitted the exact letter with the documents... when they brought back the letters, we saw that some items were much lower; that is why we took from others and allocated to Cospharm. But this is just a fight between bidders; obviously, the people who took the matter to the review panel did their investigations. This is an industry mafia."

Review challenge

The award to Cospharm has since reached the table of the finance ministry’s review panel, which met this week to discuss the way forward after ErongoMed Health Distributors and Africure Pharmaceutical Namibia challenged the award by instituting a review application against the procurement board.

The review panel consisted of Tulimeyo Kaapanda (chairperson), Browny Mutrifa, Hellen Amupolo and Gilbert Habimana.

Kaapanda informed Ngavetene about the review in a letter dated 18 August.

"The Central Procurement Board of Namibia, being the first respondent in the matter, is invited and required to attend these proceedings. If CPBN fails to attend or submit its representation in writing, the review panel shall proceed with the review proceedings and decide the matter in your absence," Kaapanda’s letter reads.

Ngavetene told Namibian Sun yesterday that he attended Monday’s proceedings and that the board stands by its decision to award the contract to Cospharm.

Debate to restart process

It is understood that the majority of the panel members want the process to start afresh, a move that could spark outrage among the successful bidders who feel the process is being tampered with to accommodate Cospharm.

"We are told some companies that failed to make it initially are sabotaging the process and therefore pushing for the whole tender to be redone. This is unfair to those bidders who went out of their way to make sure that their bids are responsive," said a bidder who chose to remain anonymous.

Another bidder quipped: "Restarting the process will be unfair because our competitors now know our prices."

Contacted for comment yesterday, Kaapanda said the matter has still not been finalised.

"We have not made a decision yet, so I won’t be able to tell you anything. Actually, I am not authorised to speak to the media. The ministry has a spokesperson, and you can get that information from them," she said.

Health crisis

Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula yesterday said he was not aware of the disputed pharmaceutical tender.

"The adjudication is taking place at the CPBN. It is really unfortunate that commercial interests are overriding the public health interests. If a tender for pharmaceutical or clinical items is not finalised, it has serious implications for the health and lives of the public," a disappointed Shangula said.