Hertta-Maria Amutenja
In a legal showdown, Palladium Civil Engineering (Pty) Ltd and Zhong Mei Engineering Group (Pty) Ltd, have lodged an urgent court application to challenge the decision by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) to disqualify their bids.
The dispute revolves around the procurement process for the construction of the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) Head Office, a project with a total estimated value of N$236 824 319.45.
Sole shareholder and director of Palladium Civil Engineering, Immanuel Uugwanga, in the founding affidavit, contends that the CPBN, through its chairperson and the review panel, acted unfairly and unreasonably in disqualifying their bid.
According to the documents filed at the Windhoek High Court, Uugwanga is acting in partnership with Zhong Mei Engineering Group to participate in the bidding process.
They are seeking urgent relief, including an order to interdict the CPBN from signing any contract related to the procurement until the matter is resolved. The applicants also aim to review and set aside the decision of the review panel, which deemed their application premature.
“An order interdicting and restraining the First and/or Second Respondent and the Fifth Respondent from signing any contract bringing into effect the procurement under reference number W/OAB/CPBN-01-2023 procurement description: construction of the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) head office (hereinafter ‘the Bid’) in terms of Section 5 of the Public Procurement Act, 2015, pending the final determination of Part by this Honorable Court,” reads the affidavit.
The legal argument centres on the allegation that the CPBN unfairly disqualified their bid based on procedural irregularities. Uugwanga emphasised that they submitted their reconsideration within the specified time frame and followed due process.
“By the morning of the 28th of December 2023, the Applicant had still not received a response to its reconsideration. Therefore, the Applicant proceeded to submit its application – via email – for review,” states Uugwanga in the affidavit.
The engineering companies contend that the CPBN’s refusal to provide a written undertaking not to proceed with awarding the contract during the review process necessitates urgent intervention by the court.
In response to the legal challenge, the CPBN, in a letter dated January 23, 2024, informed the engineering companies that they were unable to accede to the request for an undertaking not to enter into a procurement contract for the bid.
Last year, Zhong Mei faced a setback in its attempt to recover N$33 million that was seized by the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) from its bank account. The construction firm, which has been under scrutiny for not paying corporate taxes in Namibia despite substantial earnings, sought a court order for the return of the seized funds.
The ruling, delivered by Judge Eileen Rakow in the Windhoek High Court last August, dismissed Zhong Mei’s application, emphasising the principle of “pay now, argue later.” The judge noted that taxpayers are obligated to settle assessed taxes before disputing their tax liability. The N$33 million seized by Namra from Zhong Mei’s account will remain with the tax agency for now, deemed to be in the public interest
Zhong Mei Engineering Group has been active in Namibia since its registration in 2013 and has been involved in major construction projects, including the construction of a new road between Windhoek and Hosea Kutako International Airport, road upgrades in northern Namibia, and improvements to routes in the Erongo and Kunene regions.
Namra alleged that Zhong Mei submitted tax returns indicating no corporate tax liability from 2013 to August 2018, despite actively trading and earning approximately N$926.5 million in revenue through government contracts during that period. The tax agency claims that Zhong Mei should have paid a total of N$33 million in taxes over three years (2015/16 to 2017/18).
