Namibia’s procurement regulations: A cancer to new businesses
In the ongoing narrative championing entrepreneurship as the catalyst for economic liberation, a discord emerges between the custodians of procurement regulations and proponents of self-reliance.
The current onslaught of newly established enterprises competing for contracts in a fiercely competitive bidding arena poses insurmountable challenges to their survival. This is so because the demanding path of technical evaluations imposes impractical prerequisites, mandating a minimum of at least three years' experience, ostensibly under the guise of quality assurance.
Arguably, the pursuit of quality assurance, through such rigorous criteria, should be balanced with a consideration for fostering the growth of growing businesses rather than fortifying the dominance of established players. The lingering dilemma persists: How can the newly established enterprises accumulate experience when the very gatekeepers demanding it impede their entry? Unless we are promoting a culture of business monopoly, one that is not favourable to sharing equal opportunities and such should be deprecated.
Well, we can all agree that the genesis of seasoned industry players who now enjoy the benefit of being experienced lies in the opportunities afforded to them during the years of their humble beginnings, yet the same is not being afforded to the newly established ones.
What went wrong?
Old-fashioned
Perhaps what procurement officials fail to recognise is that the sought-after competency or so-called experience to perform the work in question resides in the staff personnel employed by the company, and not solely within the entity itself - because companies don’t work, the people they employ do. As such, an inexperienced company may boast a workforce with a decade of expertise through hiring expertise, rendering the demand for organisational experience old-fashioned.
In my view, a more judicious approach would involve requisites demanding past experience for key staff personnel as opposed to the entity itself, promoting both quality assurance and inclusivity.
Insofar as it is concerned, the Namibian procurement landscape reverberates with a biased step toward esteemed corporations, leaving emerging enterprises teetering on the brink of extinction.
Still, the crucial question lingers: How can these new entities accumulate experience when doors remain firmly shut due to their lack of it?
This approach perpetuates a paradox, consigning business owners to premature failure as their endeavours face an untimely death. The time is ripe for a recalibration of procurement policies, fostering an environment where both seasoned and emerging businesses can thrive, ensuring a vibrant and diverse economic landscape.
**Samuel Shinedima holds an LLB honours degree and a bachelor of arts degree in media studies from the University of Namibia as well as qualifications in patent law and global public health from Harvard Law School in conjunction with World Intellectual Property Organisation. He has worked as a journalist for half a decade.
The current onslaught of newly established enterprises competing for contracts in a fiercely competitive bidding arena poses insurmountable challenges to their survival. This is so because the demanding path of technical evaluations imposes impractical prerequisites, mandating a minimum of at least three years' experience, ostensibly under the guise of quality assurance.
Arguably, the pursuit of quality assurance, through such rigorous criteria, should be balanced with a consideration for fostering the growth of growing businesses rather than fortifying the dominance of established players. The lingering dilemma persists: How can the newly established enterprises accumulate experience when the very gatekeepers demanding it impede their entry? Unless we are promoting a culture of business monopoly, one that is not favourable to sharing equal opportunities and such should be deprecated.
Well, we can all agree that the genesis of seasoned industry players who now enjoy the benefit of being experienced lies in the opportunities afforded to them during the years of their humble beginnings, yet the same is not being afforded to the newly established ones.
What went wrong?
Old-fashioned
Perhaps what procurement officials fail to recognise is that the sought-after competency or so-called experience to perform the work in question resides in the staff personnel employed by the company, and not solely within the entity itself - because companies don’t work, the people they employ do. As such, an inexperienced company may boast a workforce with a decade of expertise through hiring expertise, rendering the demand for organisational experience old-fashioned.
In my view, a more judicious approach would involve requisites demanding past experience for key staff personnel as opposed to the entity itself, promoting both quality assurance and inclusivity.
Insofar as it is concerned, the Namibian procurement landscape reverberates with a biased step toward esteemed corporations, leaving emerging enterprises teetering on the brink of extinction.
Still, the crucial question lingers: How can these new entities accumulate experience when doors remain firmly shut due to their lack of it?
This approach perpetuates a paradox, consigning business owners to premature failure as their endeavours face an untimely death. The time is ripe for a recalibration of procurement policies, fostering an environment where both seasoned and emerging businesses can thrive, ensuring a vibrant and diverse economic landscape.
**Samuel Shinedima holds an LLB honours degree and a bachelor of arts degree in media studies from the University of Namibia as well as qualifications in patent law and global public health from Harvard Law School in conjunction with World Intellectual Property Organisation. He has worked as a journalist for half a decade.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article