Patience Makwele

The ministry of education, innovation, youth, sports, arts and culture says it sought an exemption from the ministry of finance and public enterprises to appoint the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) to supply and deliver food to government school hostels through a public entity, instead of an open competitive bidding process.

“The reason for considering NTA was necessitated by the need to explore more avenues to enable a more financially sustainable procurement arrangement with limited litigation risks,” said the ministry’s executive director Erastus Haitengela in a statement.

He added that prolonged and frequent court cases had placed a significant burden on the ministry and compromised food security for hostel learners.

According to the ministry, six public entities participated in the procurement process, with NTA emerging as the responsive bidder in line with provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

The ministry said the interim arrangement is expected to cost just over N$90 million per month and will run for six months while awaiting the finalisation of a Supreme Court case relating to the three-year Open National Bidding process.

It stressed that the interim contract would not result in additional costs compared to previous food supply contracts.