The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) has awarded tenders worth N$8,1 billion, of which N$7,1 billion were awarded to Namibians during the 2023–2024 financial year.

These awards were made both through competitive and direct procurement processes, and the number of tenders awarded to local companies speaks volumes about the board's commitment to supporting local businesses.

The acting CEO of the board, Amon Ngavetene, explained why the majority of procurement was conducted through advertisements.

“The reason for that is to make sure that we open up the market to make the process more competitive, ensuring that we are getting market-related pricing and that the government is really gaining their value for money, therefore saving up lots of money in the process.’

The Board highlighted a significant concern about the delayed payment of invoices for consultant teams by certain ministries.

“Unless the Ministry says we don't have money to procure, because we never had long-term procurement, we always used to do short-term, expensive things, so we have run out of money. That could've been a different story, but they can't say that they don't have money at the moment because of procurement processes on board because for every process that is challenging, there are remedial measures in place, so they just need to answer themselves as to what is happening in their space, and that narrative has been coming up, and for some of us, we have a duty to protect the reputation of the board.”

The CPBN also suggested the establishment of effective communication channels.