Limba Mupetami
Maria Sheya
The Ministry of Sport will appear in the Windhoek High Court today at 9h00 for a hearing after being taken to court by a joint venture that lost out on the tender to revamp the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.
Toivo Nuugulu Architects and Kerry McNamara Architects, a joint venture, filed an urgent application, seeking a court order to halt the awarding process until the court has given a ruling in the matter.
On 2 May, the review panel set aside the first award, and ordered for the bidding process to start afresh after the ministry advertised for consultancy proposals from bidders. Following this, the Ministry released revised bid documents to selected bidders and consultants. However, only two submissions were made by the deadline of 29 August this year: one from the joint venture, and another from Marley Tjitjo Architects.
The latter was ultimately awarded the tender.
Aggrieved, the joint venture filed a reconsideration request with the review panel, which was dismissed on 23 October 2024.
In response, the applicants asked the ministry to halt the awarding process while they approached the High Court for a review. The ministry declined the request, prompting the applicants to file an urgent application on 13 November 2024.
They are now seeking to halt the tender award until the High Court makes a ruling. The applicants claim they were unfairly sidelined, citing they submitted a significantly lower financial proposal compared to Marley Tjitjo Architects.
They also argue that the accounting officer exceeded his authority by disqualifying them, asserting that his powers are limited to awarding contracts based on the procurement committee’s recommendations.
Additionally, they allege that the Ministry of Finance did not issue an exemption for the procurement, making the award to Marley Tjitjo Architects unlawful.
They also accuse the review panel of failing to thoroughly evaluate their reconsideration request. However, the ministry’s executive director Mbumba Haitengela said the joint venture failed to initialise all of the documents it submitted in person or online. He refuted the claims that ministry never got an exemption from the finance ministry, stating that the exemption was granted on 1 July this year.
He also noted that he could not confirm if their financial proposal was lower than that of Marley Tjitjo Architects, as they were disqualified before reaching that evaluation stage.
“It is worrisome that someone in the position of Mr. Nuugulu makes reckless allegations under oath, which are demonstrably false, and based on those allegations, seeks to pursue a relief before a court of law,” said Haitengela.
Contract under question
The contentious tender was awarded to Marley Tjitjo Architects, who were selected to conduct a feasibility study for the Independence Stadium renovation project. Their scope of work includes feasibility studies, designing, preparing tender documents, contract management and site supervision. These renovations are essential for the stadium to meet Confederation of African Football (CAF) standards, following its 2021 designation as ‘dilapidated.’
The contract, valued at N$802 000, was detailed in a procurement notice signed by public procurement official Haitengela. However, the total renovation cost remains unclear, with a source describing the tender as a ‘juicy opportunity’ that has attracted interest.
The Ministry of Sport had planned to announce the successful bidder and commence renovations during a press conference last week, but the event was abruptly cancelled.
Sports analyst Marco Ndlovu expressed frustration over the prolonged delays. “Government, through the Ministry of Sport, should have sought an exemption from Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance. This would have allowed the renovations to proceed much earlier. Unfortunately, some businessmen view this as an opportunity to exploit State resources,” he said.
He also urged decisive action to resolve the stalemate. “The Ministry must ensure the tender process is transparent and efficient to avoid these unnecessary delays. Perhaps His Excellency Nangolo Mbumba should intervene through presidential powers to resolve this matter. It’s disappointing,” he noted.
– lmupetami@nepc.com.na