Telecom directory tender catches flak

South African majority-owned company TDS Directory Operations (Namibia), which has been compiling the telephone directory of Telecom Namibia since 2007, is likely to be favoured again because the tender regulations were specifically designed to fit it, critics say.At the close of the tender applications on 31 August, TDS Directory and Lapaka Namibia Directories, a company owned by Botswana nationals, were vying for the lucrative three-year contract and had submitted bids of N$180 million and N$173 million respectively. Previously when the contract was over five years, Telecom Namibia was guaranteed no less than N$188 million from advertising revenue, while the successful bidder earned approximately 25% or N$47 million.The critics, preferring anonymity, also said it would appear as if Telecom has reneged on its promise to Namibianise jobs and contracts and that the new tender specifications are designed to suit TDS.“This is an absolute slap in the face for Namibia. It is a betrayal of Namibianisation, of BEE [black economic empowerment], and the creation of local employment. It is a retrogressive step,” one of the critics said. The bidding documents for the new compilation and supply tender were issued at the start of August.The specifications stipulate that bidders will only be considered if they have experience in the nature and size of the contract over the last five years. In Namibia's context, only TDS has such credentials since it has held the contract since 2006.TDS is also the only company with the requisite two service contracts “of a nature and complexity equivalent to the services over the last five years”. Although preference is to be given to local bidders, the tender specifications further state that a “margin of preference shall not be applicable”, which the critics said puts Namibians on equal footing with foreigners. “TDS is only nominally a local company by virtue of its registration, but the de facto company is being run in South Africa,” one source said. There it states that the company is “supported by TDS Namibia (Pty) Ltd in South Africa and Truvo internationally”. Its shareholders are TDS Namibia (with 75% shareholding) and Namibian BEE partner Ripanga Investments, which holds 25%.During a previous bidding process it was reported that Ripanga's local partners included lawyers Rodgers Kauta, Patrick Kauta and Tjakazenga Kamuhanga-Hoveka. Others included Dawid Nel, architect Marley Tjitjo, former Nedbank Namibia MD Erastus Hoveka, Fanuel Tjivau, Paulus Kamanya, Florence Kaura, medical specialist Ishmael Katjitae and businesswoman Hilda Basson-Namundjebo.The tender specifications spell out that the minimum required experience is that the bidder should have done a similar job over a period of three years and experience in sales is required for the 2017/18 financial year. According to the local sources, the job to compile Telecom's directory does not require any specialised or rare skills or innovation. They further said categories on the score card such as “revenue growth” and “commission required” are high on the totem pole – counting 25 and 20 respectively – which they said would again favour TDS because it is the only company around that would know these figures. The critics said when the bids were opened on 31 August, certain information was withheld, which is contrary to the tender specifications.“If the income is the fulcrum and only one person knows what it is worth, does this not exclude the rest,” one source questioned. The sources also said the requirement to provide guaranteed revenue of N$43 million is misleading because, again, only TDS could know the real value. Another requirement questioned is a stipulation that the service provider should get prior approval from Telecom for any changes to its key personnel and subcontractors. 'This is a closed shop, a sham'According to the TDS website it was established in 2006 to “market, sell and produce advertising in the Telephone Namibia Directories”. TDS held the first contract from 2007 to 2012 and the subsequent contract was again awarded to it after it was exempted from tender procedures. The first tender award was not without controversy and ended up in parliament when Johan de Waal of the then DTA requested that the N$100 million contract be cancelled. De Waal accused Telecom of “gross neglect” for having awarded the tender to TDS. Some of the critics then – as now – claimed that “certain people got into bed with TDS” and alleged that “political or well-connected movements are afoot”. 'Old' allegationsTelecom Namibia's spokesperson, Oiva Angula, when presented with questions regarding the matter, said this was an “old complaint” but would not go into detail. Angula referred all questions to the Central Procurement Board (CPB), which responded after about a week that Telecom Namibia should in fact provide answers to many of the questions. The CPB added that it would difficult for Telecom Namibia to answer these questions because the tender applications were still being considered by the bid evaluation board.Telecom Namibia has not responded since then. Cissie Nakashona, a manager at the TDS office, after consultation with the South African office, said the allegations were merely “propaganda” to which the company would not respond. CATHERINE SASMAN

Telecom directory tender catches flak

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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Telecom directory tender catches flak

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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