Namviator
13th Mar 2009, 09:46
As quoted from a Namibian newspaper. Voel, how do you explain this?
NAMIBIAN taxpayers will have to fork out an extra N$30 million for the procurement of radar and surveillance equipment after the Tender Board of Namibia and the Ministry of Finance signed a contract with French aviation firm Thales Air Systems, notwithstanding that its bid was €2,555,544.00 more expensive than those presented by its competitors. s a result, Namibia’s efforts to secure its airspace in time for the 2010 World Cup are likely to suffer a major setback after one of the contenders for the radar contract, Selex Sistemi Integrati S.p.A of Italy instituted legal action against Thales Air System S.A, the government, and another bidder, Indra Sistemas S.A. of Spain, claiming that the issuing of the tender was irregular and in violation of tender regulations.
The Ministry of Works and Transport signed a N$175 million agreement with Thales in January, after awarding the contract to the French company on 5 December 2008. Thales, tasked with the installation of primary and secondary radar at Hosea Kutako Intenational Airport, is expected to complete the project in 15 months.
However, Selex has challenged the decision made by the Tender Board and Ministry of Works and Transport, saying the two institutions violated tender regulations by issuing the contract to Thales, which submitted the highest bid.
Selex has filed an urgent application in the High Court, seeking an order against the Chairperson of the Tender Board, Minister of Works and the two aviation companies.
Thales, Selex and Indra submitted bids to the Tender Board of Namibia on 24 January 2008 for the Acquisition of Radar and Surveillance Equipment for Civil Aviation, registered at the Tender Board as tender F1/10/x2 - 1/2007.
In its application, scheduled for hearing in the Windhoek High Court today, Italian aerospace defence and telecommunications giant Selex argues that its bid was N$30 million lower than that of Thales, an aerospace, defence and security concern partly owned by the French government.
According to affidavits filed in the Windhoek High Court by Sisa Namandje & Co Legal Practitioners on behalf of Selex, the awarding of the tender to Thales at N$30 million higher in a deal estimated at N$160 million, constituted a violation of tender regulations and Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution.
Selex’s bid was €9,578,440 including 16.5% VAT, while Thales Air Systems’ bid was €9,944,045 and Spanish contender Indra’s bid was €8,747,747. Thales and Indra’s bids did not include VAT. Ministry of Finance regulations governing the issuing of tenders stipulate that all bids should include VAT.
However, the Tender Board reportedly awarded the tender to Thales, in contravention of tender rules without considering that the company had not included VAT in its bidding price. After the deduction of VAT, Selex argues, its bid was €2,555,544 (N$30,922,082) lower than that of Thales.
“The mere facts that third respondent Thales Air System’s tender is approximately N$30 million higher than applicant’s makes it inappropriate that it was successful. On a total contract price of approximately N$160 million, this is an enormous discrepancy,” reads part of the affidavit filed by Sisa Namandje on behalf of Selex vice president Domenico Iovino, who is in charge of sales for Middle East and Africa.
“A point allocation system where tenderers meet stringent technical specifications would require manipulation or be inherently flawed if a significantly higher tender is priced over one which is some N$30 million less and would give rise to some inference of irregularity on the part of the decision making involved in the process.”
The court application seeks to prevent the four parties from making any transactions on the radar deal until the dispute has been resolved. Selex also says it only learned of the awarding of the December 5, 2008 tender to Thales on from the Ministry of finance’s website on January 16, 2009. Tender regulations require the Tender Board to notify bidders within 28 days. Selex says this was not done.
Secretary to the Tender Board of Namibia, Wilma Ennsel said the Tender Board would not comment on the issue since it is before the courts.
Thales and Selex are already involved in another radar tender dispute in Zambia, where the Minister of Communications and Transport, Dora Siliya, has been hauled before a tribunal for cancelling Thales’s contract in favour of Selex after it emerged officials in the Zambia National Tender Board had flouted tender regulations.
In Namibia, Thales will install the Wide Area Multi Lateralisation System (WAM) at 36 locations, allowing air traffic controllers to see the location of planes and other flying objects throughout the country.
The need for radar in Namibia became apparent after a mid-air collision between a German Luftwaffe Tu-154 and a United States Air Force USAF C-141 military aircraft over Namibia’s South Atlantic coast on 13 September 1997.
NAMIBIAN taxpayers will have to fork out an extra N$30 million for the procurement of radar and surveillance equipment after the Tender Board of Namibia and the Ministry of Finance signed a contract with French aviation firm Thales Air Systems, notwithstanding that its bid was €2,555,544.00 more expensive than those presented by its competitors. s a result, Namibia’s efforts to secure its airspace in time for the 2010 World Cup are likely to suffer a major setback after one of the contenders for the radar contract, Selex Sistemi Integrati S.p.A of Italy instituted legal action against Thales Air System S.A, the government, and another bidder, Indra Sistemas S.A. of Spain, claiming that the issuing of the tender was irregular and in violation of tender regulations.
The Ministry of Works and Transport signed a N$175 million agreement with Thales in January, after awarding the contract to the French company on 5 December 2008. Thales, tasked with the installation of primary and secondary radar at Hosea Kutako Intenational Airport, is expected to complete the project in 15 months.
However, Selex has challenged the decision made by the Tender Board and Ministry of Works and Transport, saying the two institutions violated tender regulations by issuing the contract to Thales, which submitted the highest bid.
Selex has filed an urgent application in the High Court, seeking an order against the Chairperson of the Tender Board, Minister of Works and the two aviation companies.
Thales, Selex and Indra submitted bids to the Tender Board of Namibia on 24 January 2008 for the Acquisition of Radar and Surveillance Equipment for Civil Aviation, registered at the Tender Board as tender F1/10/x2 - 1/2007.
In its application, scheduled for hearing in the Windhoek High Court today, Italian aerospace defence and telecommunications giant Selex argues that its bid was N$30 million lower than that of Thales, an aerospace, defence and security concern partly owned by the French government.
According to affidavits filed in the Windhoek High Court by Sisa Namandje & Co Legal Practitioners on behalf of Selex, the awarding of the tender to Thales at N$30 million higher in a deal estimated at N$160 million, constituted a violation of tender regulations and Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution.
Selex’s bid was €9,578,440 including 16.5% VAT, while Thales Air Systems’ bid was €9,944,045 and Spanish contender Indra’s bid was €8,747,747. Thales and Indra’s bids did not include VAT. Ministry of Finance regulations governing the issuing of tenders stipulate that all bids should include VAT.
However, the Tender Board reportedly awarded the tender to Thales, in contravention of tender rules without considering that the company had not included VAT in its bidding price. After the deduction of VAT, Selex argues, its bid was €2,555,544 (N$30,922,082) lower than that of Thales.
“The mere facts that third respondent Thales Air System’s tender is approximately N$30 million higher than applicant’s makes it inappropriate that it was successful. On a total contract price of approximately N$160 million, this is an enormous discrepancy,” reads part of the affidavit filed by Sisa Namandje on behalf of Selex vice president Domenico Iovino, who is in charge of sales for Middle East and Africa.
“A point allocation system where tenderers meet stringent technical specifications would require manipulation or be inherently flawed if a significantly higher tender is priced over one which is some N$30 million less and would give rise to some inference of irregularity on the part of the decision making involved in the process.”
The court application seeks to prevent the four parties from making any transactions on the radar deal until the dispute has been resolved. Selex also says it only learned of the awarding of the December 5, 2008 tender to Thales on from the Ministry of finance’s website on January 16, 2009. Tender regulations require the Tender Board to notify bidders within 28 days. Selex says this was not done.
Secretary to the Tender Board of Namibia, Wilma Ennsel said the Tender Board would not comment on the issue since it is before the courts.
Thales and Selex are already involved in another radar tender dispute in Zambia, where the Minister of Communications and Transport, Dora Siliya, has been hauled before a tribunal for cancelling Thales’s contract in favour of Selex after it emerged officials in the Zambia National Tender Board had flouted tender regulations.
In Namibia, Thales will install the Wide Area Multi Lateralisation System (WAM) at 36 locations, allowing air traffic controllers to see the location of planes and other flying objects throughout the country.
The need for radar in Namibia became apparent after a mid-air collision between a German Luftwaffe Tu-154 and a United States Air Force USAF C-141 military aircraft over Namibia’s South Atlantic coast on 13 September 1997.