The ongoing tussle over whom to provide ground-handling services at Hosea Kutako International Airport is far from over.

On Thursday, Windhoek High Court Judge Shafima Ueitele directed that the order by his fellow judge Orben Sibeya directing Menzies Aviation Namibia to cease providing handling services and vacate the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) is currently on hold until he pronounces himself on the urgent application filed by the company on Friday.

However, the following day, Menzies approached the court, seeking an order, stipulating that the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) is obliged to give Menzies reasonable notice to vacate the HKIA and the three-day notice it received to vacate the airport premises was unreasonable – and as such, it must be set aside. 

They demand that such an order shall remain intact until such a time the joint venture between Paragon and JV Ethiopia Airlines, which was awarded the tender by NAC instead of them, has the capacity to render the ground-handling services.

Furthermore, they should wait for the outcome of their review application in which they want NAC’s decision to award the multi-million-dollar contract to the joint venture reviewed and set aside. 

In this application, Menzies claims the NAC awarded the tender to a joint venture that did not meet bidding requirements, violating the law by awarding a tender exceeding N$25 million. 

They say this is against the stipulated threshold, suggesting the Central Procurement Board of Namibia should have handled the bidding process.

Meanwhile, Ueitele indicated he did not deal with the merits of Friday’s urgent application but focused only on the legal issues that were raised by Paragon. 

These issues were urgency, jurisdiction, abuse of court processes, fair trial and public law decisions.

Ueitele dismissed all these legal issues, saying the matter is indeed urgent and, thus, will not follow the normal route of matters heard before the court.

He also stipulated that although the law does not allow the high court to review its orders, the application by Menzies is not a review application. 

“My understanding is that Menzies is asking for a stay in execution of the Sibeya orders and not a review. This court is not attempting to review those orders. So, this court does have jurisdiction to hear the matter,” said Ueitele.

He also noted that none of the courts has dealt with the issue of the three-day eviction notice, and Menzies’ application against the three-day eviction notice by NAC is not an abuse of the court’s processes but an exercise of their rights.

Furthermore, none of the joint ventures’ rights are being violated by the urgent application.

The court will hear the merits of the case on 4 July, and the parties were ordered to file their written heads of arguments on or before 1 July.

The contract has been stuck in court after Menzies, whose contract came to an end on 30 June 2022, refused to make way for joint venture partners – Paragon Investments and JV Ethiopia Airlines – to commence work on 1 July 2022. 

Menzies has been providing passenger and cargo handling services at HKIA since February 2014. 

Its contract has been extended twice. It was once again extended on 30 June 2022 until further notice.

On Thursday, NAC issued a statement, affirming that while there is ongoing litigation, Menzies will continue to provide ground-handling services at HKIA.

- mamakali@nepc.com.na