Tender Board to investigate N$14m contract awarded to company accused of deception

THE Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) says it will conduct an investigation on the N$14 million tender it awarded in April this year to Truth Investments CC, a company currently embroiled in winning a N$7,3 million Oshakati tender with fake documents.

This is part of a story published on Wednesday about a N$7,3 million road upgrade tender awarded to businessman Japhet Mvula’s company by the Oshakati Town Council earlier this month.

Mvula’s company Truth Investments CC is accused of using false certificates claiming that it had done projects in the past for the two northern councils.

Now, the tender board is investigating the company for possible irregularities.

“The CPBN takes note of the information provided and will conduct further investigation on the matter,” spokesperson Johanna Kambala told The Namibian.

The Namibian wanted to know whether the tender board verified the company’s bid with external parties.

The company stated in its bidding documents that it had improved roads in Oshana, Ruacana, Ongwediva and Oshikuku.

Both the Oshikuku and Ruacana, however, dispute these claims.

Oshakati Town Council chief executive Timoteus Namwandi has admitted that the council awarded the contract to Mvula’s company, but made a u-turn after its verification process found that completion certificates submitted were fake.

“We are happy that this was detected. We are running our procurement process parallel. We do verification and even an in-house investigation during the standstill period of seven working days. But what had happened is one of those unfortunate situations,” Namwandi said.
Mvula has denied any wrongdoing.

*Grab today’s edition of The Namibian for more details on why Mvula’s Truth Investment is accused of dishonesty.