Education ministry defends handpicking of August 26

The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture said that it handpicked the August 26 Construction Company to build classrooms and ablution facilities at public schools across the country in terms of the Public Procurement Act of 2015.

The ministry’s acting executive director, Knox Otto Imalwa, said in a statement on Tuesday that the ministry chose the Namibian Defence Force-owned company due to the urgency of providing adequate classrooms.

The decision to award August 26 construction with a contract worth N.dollars 255 million has been widely criticised, with critics claiming that the ministry is undermining construction companies in the private sector.

Imalwa explained that Section 34 of the Public Procurement Act allows for execution by a public entity (EPE).

According to him, the ministry receives numerous complaints from parents of children in various regions who are unable to find placement at the beginning of the school year.

‘The main reason is usually due to classroom shortages. Given this realit
y, the ministry opted for the EPE procurement method, which was pursued to secure a short-term agreement for the emergency construction of additional classrooms and ablution facilities by August 26 Construction Company,’ Imalwa said.

‘This deliberate but purposeful intervention was decided upon, bearing in mind the current dire need for additional classrooms countrywide, persuaded by the fact that classrooms are considered special infrastructure that should be delivered timely, affordably, and in the required quality and quantity for immediate deployment towards the educational development of the Namibian child.’

The Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIFN) has accused the government of sidelining the private sector when it comes to public work and claimed that August 26 lacks the capacity to execute the work and that it is expected to subcontract some of the work.

However, the education ministry reiterated that the bidding and tendering processes for works, goods, and services are done in acco
rdance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

Imalwa assured the public, in particular the CIFN, that there is nothing sinister with the manner in which the ministry awarded the works to August 26 Construction Company.

Source: Namibia Press Agency