N$2.8m Okahandja waste collection tender row

• By Tracy Tafirenyika

SEVEN Okahandja-based businesses have filed an urgent plea with the town management to cancel the N$2.8m waste collection and disposal tender for SMEs.

The tender, which attracted 39 companies, was given to Geronika Investments from Windhoek, asked for N$238 760 per month, and Oshivanda Business Enterprises wanted N$238 874.58 from Outapi.

The lowest bid was N$47 725 from Kambuche’s Trading, while the highest was N$14 857 641 from BK Shilongo Investment.

The contractors based in Okahandja told Confidente that one of the tender requirements was that interested contractors must be from Okahandja.

The concerned companies wrote to the town’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alphons Tjitombo, inquiring why the tender was awarded to companies based out of town.

“We request that your office provide the evaluation report score points, evaluation criteria used, and bid scores. We learned that this waste collection tender was only intended to be awarded to Okahandja-based SMEs, but the SMEs that were awarded the offer are not from Okahandja; we don’t understand how it was awarded to a company from outside Okahandja,” the bidders stated.

A community member who chose to remain anonymous said at the bid opening, the companies were given the town maps, and the town was divided into six zones where six companies were supposed to be picked for cleaning purposes.

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