The Namibian government will fully enforce the Code of Good Practice, an effort to enable the procurement of certain goods and services within Namibia to benefit citizens.
In 2023, the government issued a Code of Good Practice under the Public Procurement Act.
The Code contains guidelines designed to give preferential treatment in public procurement to certain local groups and suppliers as part of the state's economic and development policy.
The Deputy Executive Director and Head of the Procurement Policy Unit in the Ministry of Finance, Pinehas Nsundano, said that once implemented, the Code of Good Practice will uplift small and medium enterprises and benefit women, youth, and the previously disadvantaged.
"The good part of it is that before it is gazetted and enforced, there is a 30-day period during which it lies for inspection. So this document was also a very different inspection for a 30-day period, during which the public were able to comment and industry role players were able to provide additional information. This process provided us with valuable insights regarding which services, goods, and works should be included in the code of goods and products. The Public Programming Act aims to foster economic activities and opportunities."
Goods included are, among others, vegetables, toilet paper, bottled water, cement, leather goods, arts and crafts, salt and stationery.
Services range from construction to plumbing, installation and maintenance of air conditioning, welding, and carpentry.
Nsundano explains that if goods and services are not available in the local market, entities are allowed to import such goods and services.
"However, the first goal is to give preference to those that are grown or manufactured in Namibia. If you still need more, then you can supplement that from the outside. The other aspect is also the effect that we have given preference and kept them at 3% and 4%. This is to ensure that there is no abuse by the bidders to charge the government exorbitantly for things that they could have got elsewhere at a much lower price. Bidders in the public sector are urged to uphold ethical standards in procurement and to avoid using this process as a means to overcharge the government for services."
The idea is to use procurement strategically to promote local economic development, empower Namibian businesses, support job creation, and advance socio-economic empowerment among targeted groups.