Tender agency rocked by infighting

Most of Namibia’s Central Procurement Board (CPB) members have decided to remove chairperson Patrick Swartz from his position over infighting and the lack of progress at the state tender agency. Three people familiar with this matter confirmed to The Namibian that the majority of board members passed a vote of no confidence in Swartz who is accountable to the Finance Ministry. The decision was taken after Swartz and his deputy Lischen Ramakhutla repeatedly clashed. ‘The chair does not have the capacity or perhaps feels not legally empowered to reprimand her,’ an internal February board memo noted. The Namibian understands that Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein is losing patience with the board’s management. He has powers under the Procurement Act to remove any CPB board member.