CPBN CEO Highlights Joint Fight Against Collusion in Public Procurement

14 September 2026.

Statement by Mr Idi Itope, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Procurement Board of Namibia, at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Namibian Competition Commission.

Mr Vitalis Ndalikokule, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to the Namibian Competition Commission, and your team.

Our partnership began, quite formally, with a letter.

The CEO wrote to this Board proposing that our two institutions enter into a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Commission recognised, in its own words, “the vital role that CPBN plays in ensuring fairness, transparency, and efficiency in public procurement.”

Today, we bring that proposal to life.

CPBN was established under the Public Procurement Act of 2015 with a clear mandate: to conduct fair, transparent, and competitive bidding processes on behalf of public entities, and to ensure that every contract we award represents genuine value for the Namibian taxpayer.

But we have long recognised that procurement integrity cannot be safeguarded by procurement law alone.

Where bidders collude,

Where prices are fixed,

Where markets are quietly carved up between a handful of dominant players, or

Where bid technical specifications are designed to favour a chosen few,

these are not merely procurement issues. They are competition violations. And they call for the kind of institutional cooperation we are formalising today.

Allow me to reflect on why our two institutions are natural partners, not simply in mandate, but in vision.

The vision of the Central Procurement Board of Namibia is to be a vibrant and dynamic procuring agent that enables sustainable growth.

The Commission, in turn, envisions a dynamic and competitive marketplace that drives inclusive growth, provides equal opportunity for all businesses, protects consumers, and secures the long-term socio-economic prosperity of our country.

Read side by side, these are not two separate visions; they are one and the same ambition, approached from two different points of entry into our economy.

1. The Board seeks a dynamic procurement system; the Commission seeks a dynamic marketplace.
2. The Board pursues sustainable growth through the contracts it awards; the Commission pursues inclusive growth through the markets it protects.
3. Where the Board opens the door to fair competition among bidders, the Commission ensures that door remains open, that no cartel, no collusive arrangement, and no abuse of market dominance quietly closes it again.
4. Sustainable growth and inclusive growth are, in truth, the same destination. This MoU is simply the road that connects them.

That is why this MoU with the Commission matters so much. It brings together two statutory bodies: one that understands markets, and one that understands procurement, under a single framework of collaboration.

Through this MoU, our two institutions commit to working jointly on the prevention, detection, and referral of restrictive business practices in public procurement.

The MoU establishes real, operational mechanisms. A Joint Working Committee will bring together our legal, enforcement, research, and compliance divisions to meet regularly and act on matters of shared concern.

1. Where either institution receives a complaint touching on restrictive practices in procurement, it will be shared with the other institution.
2. Where research is commissioned into market behaviour in procurement, both parties will have the opportunity to shape it, validate it, and act on its findings.
3. And through joint training, secondments, and knowledge exchange, we will build the technical capacity of our people to recognise the subtle signs of collusion long before they harden into entrenched practice.

We are often reminded that institutions entrusted with public mandates must act strictly within their legislation, with proper authority and due process at every step. That principle is not lost on us. As the Board and the Commission sign this MoU, we do so with equal respect for each other’s independence, our own statutory limits, and the rule of law that underpins everything we do.

Article 3.6 of this MoU says it plainly: this partnership does not dilute the independence of either institution; it strengthens what each of us was established to do.

To the Commission, and to Mr Ndalikokule personally:

1. Thank you for the good faith;
2. Thank you for the patience; and
3. Thank you for the shared vision that brought this document to the table today.

To my own team at CPBN, thank you for the diligence that went into shaping an agreement that is practical.

As we sign this Memorandum today, we are aligning two visions of the same Namibian future, a marketplace that is dynamic and fair, and a procurement system that is vibrant and sustainable, into a single, shared commitment.

We are telling every bidder, every supplier, and every Namibian citizen that public procurement in this country will be watched from two directions at once. Where those two lines of sight meet, collusion has nowhere left to hide.

With enthusiasm, I look forward to the work that lies ahead.

Thank you.

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