THE Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia has seemingly sidestepped procurement laws in appointing two green hydrogen-related consulting firms at a cost of N$11 million.
The one firm, a United Kingdom-based company, was questionably appointed to conduct a green hydrogen strategic environmental and social assessment at a cost of N$6 million – after the tendering process was cancelled.
This was due to the majority of bidders being disqualified for not initialling at least one page of their bidding documents.
The second appointment involved the implementation of the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme’s communication strategy at a cost of N$4.9 million.
This is the latest example of complaints about the lack of transparency in the manner in which the government is running the Green Hydrogen programme.
EIF chief executive Benedict Libanda in October said the awarding of both bids was above board.
He told The Issue in an email that the EIF was granted exemption from strictly adhering to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises’ tender laws on 20 May.
The reason for seeking the exemption was due to urgency, he said.
“There has been no circumvention of national procurement laws in this process,” Libanda said.
New information has, however, since come to light, raising questions on the legality of the appointment of the UK-based Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
The EIF hand-picked ERM on an emergency procurement basis to circumvent the law.
Documents seen by The Issue show that the EIF motivated an exemption from putting out a public tender.
According to the documents, the fund ran two public tendering periods yielding no results.
The first period was between 24 May and 17 June, and the second started on 30 July, closing on 30 August.
This paved the way for appointing ERM.
In a letter dated 20 September, Libanda sent a motivation for exemption to green hydrogen funding partner Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The letter was addressed to the GIZ’s Simon Inauen.
Libanda explained that the two bidding periods did not produce a preferred bidder, since none of the bidders complied with the tender’s administrative requirements.
“The EIF had approached the Policy Procurement Unit (PPU) to establish if a bid needed to be disqualified if it had not been initialled on all pages. The PPU advised in the affirmative,” read Libanda’s letter.
The PPU falls under the Central Procurement Board of Namibia, resorting under the finance ministry. Libanda cited the non-compliance of bidders, as well as the fact that the project was delayed by two years to push for the suspension of procurement laws to facilitate the hand-picking of the UK firm.
Documents show that the second bidding process delivered five shortlisted companies, of which three were disqualified for failing to initial all pages of their bid, or being signed by an unauthorised person.
The remaining two failed to provide financial performance documents.
The first bidding process saw four entities being shortlisted and disqualified for failing to initial and sign all supporting documents.
As a result the EIF did not study the technical bids of the participating companies to determine their capability before selecting ERM.
According to Libanda’s documents, ERM was interested in bidding but decided against this because its internal policies do not allow the company to provide bank guarantees for projects worth less than EUR 1 million (about N$18 million), while this consultancy would cost N$6 million.
In the documents, Libanda motivated the EIF’s decision to select ERM, stating that the international consultant comes highly recommended by the International Finance Corporation and that one of its principal consultants has extensive experience working in Namibia.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
In Libanda’s letter to Inauen, he sought the support of the German governmental agency to endorse the EIF’s appointment of Monasa Advisory and Associates for the implementation of the country’s green hydrogen programme communication strategy at a fee of N$4.9 million.
Monasa would be responsible for strategic communication and stakeholder engagement for the project.
Libanda explained in the letter that the decision to appoint Monasa was made by the country’s Green Hydrogen Council in August 2022 to develop and implement a communication strategy.
The Green Hydrogen Council consists of the director general of the National Planning Commission, Obeth Kandjoze, who is also the council’s chairman, green hydrogen commissioner James Mnyupe, minister of finance and public enterprises Iipumbu Shiimi, minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo, and minister of environment, forestry and tourism Pohamba Shifeta.
Libanda, however, explained that the implementation of the Monasa strategy was delayed due to funding constraints.
He further justified its appointment by pointing out that the procurement law makes provision for directly engaging a singular company in exceptional circumstances and when only one supplier is capable of delivering the required goods and services within the required time frame.
“Any further delay in executing the strategy could affect the public perception of the programme, especially in the lead-up to the election. It is therefore crucial to engage the public and key stakeholders immediately to safeguard the programme’s position during this pivotal period,” Libanda stated in his letter.
Monasa chief executive Jason Kasuto in October referred questions to the EIF, adding there was nothing untoward about the Monasa appointment as the company has the required expertise.
Inauen has not responded to detailed questions since October.
