SSC’s N$43.8m tender exemption hits a wall

The Ministry of Finance has rejected the Social Security Commission’s (SSC) request for a procurement exemption to fast-track a N$43.8-million fund management system project.

Documents seen by The Namibian show that the SSC requested an exemption in a letter dated 17 February under Section 4(2) of the Public Procurement Act, 2015 for the procurement, implementation and operationalisation of systems for the National Pension Fund (NPF), National Medical Benefit Fund (NMBF) and the Public Servants Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas).

The ministry has declined the request, saying the commission did not sufficiently justify why the entire procurement law should be set aside.

“The SSC has not sufficiently demonstrated why the application of the entire act would be impractical or inappropriate in relation to the procurement, implementation and operationalisation of the funds,” finance minister Ericah Shafudah says in the ministry’s response to the request.

She says the law already provides procurement options that can be used, depending on the circumstances.

“Section 27(1) of the act provides different methods of procurement available to a public entity for use based on the specific circumstances of each procurement,” she says.

Shafudah says the SSC can still use restricted bidding.

“In this case, the SSC may use the restricted bidding method . . . given the specialised nature of the services and limited availability of suppliers,” she says.

On time constraints, she refers the commission to a government directive issued on 20 January that allows for shorter bidding periods.

“This directive has reduced the minimum days for the submission of bids to allow public entities to set deadlines for the submission of bids for shorter periods,” she says.

Shafudah says exemptions can still be considered, but only on specific parts of the law rather than the entire act.
She ultimately rejects the application.

“Pursuant to the above, the SSC’s request for exemption from the application of the entire act is hereby declined,” the minister says.

The ministry says the SSC argued that the systems are highly specialised and require complex processes, including integration, data migration, testing and training.

It also says the commission indicated that standard procurement timelines were not practical due to the urgency of the project.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the SSC further stated that it had received a ministerial directive, authorised by the Cabinet, instructing it to urgently implement the operationalisation of the funds under the Social Security Act.

The SSC also expressed its intention to engage experienced international vendors with similar systems in countries such as Kenya, Zambia, Mauritius and Ghana, and to negotiate directly with shortlisted service providers.

Shafudah in the ministry’s response directs the SSC to engage the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) and develop a procurement implementation plan to ensure the process is carried out in line with the law.

SSC executive officer Milka Mungunda yesterday declined to comment.

“You are asking me questions I cannot answer, because I really don’t know. Let me rather not say anything,” she said.

Questions sent to the Ministry of Finance were not responded to by the time of publication.

The decision comes amid earlier internal concerns within the SSC about procurement processes linked to the same funds.

In March, a senior SSC manager, Nambata Angula, requested an internal audit investigation into alleged interference in procurement processes involving Mungunda.

Angula raised concerns about possible breaches of procurement procedures and governance rules during preparations for the NPF and NMBF implementation, including the appointment of consultants.

Governance analyst Marius Kudumo says the decision to reject the exemption can be justified, but only if it is grounded in law and not discretion.

“It is justifiable if there is a compelling reason for the decision and if the rejection is not selective, but consistent with the provisions of the relevant law and not based on the feelings of the minister and officials, but on legality,” he says.

He says the impact of such decisions depends on the reasoning behind them.

“It depends on the compelling reasons.

If not grounded in legality and convincing reasons, it could slow service delivery,” Kudumo says.

Namibia Nurses Union secretary general Junias Shilunga says the delays expose serious concerns about preparedness and coordination in implementing the programme.

“A medical aid programme of this scale depends on fully functional systems and without these in place, implementation cannot be effective,” he says.

Shilunga adds that the situation also raises questions about planning and governance.

“The situation clearly indicates that the responsible entities were not adequately prepared to operationalise Vision April 2026.”

He warns that rushing implementation without systems in place could have consequences, adding that the impact would be felt directly by public servants.

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