The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has highlighted governance issues at state-owned enterprises.
The research institute also noted procurement irregularities and a lack of consequence management at TransNamib.
Researcher at the IPPR, Fredrico Links, said the institute’s findings are based on the leaked Ernest and Young report that was commissioned by the then Minister of Public Enterprise Leon Jooste and handed to the Minister of Finance Ipumbu Shiimi.
“An investigation report paints a concerning picture of management and governance practices at the national rail operator,” Links said at the launch of the Procurement Tracker for the month of May.
The EY report highlighted that TransNamib bypassed requirements outlined in the Procurement Act and granted TradePort permission to procure and manage most of the services required by the Namibian Rail transport.
According to IPPR, the report also highlights that procurement procedures were curtailed in the procurement of maintenance services and upgrades made on certain TN properties.
The report further highlights that there have been several forensic audits and investigations into TransNamib under different management teams which have all been implicated in poor and wasteful government and management of the entity and they have largely not taken accountability.
The organisation thus called on the Minister to publicise the report.
“Finance [and Public Enterprises] Minister Iipumbu Shiimi should publicly release both the EY report and the TransNamib board and management’s responses to the report, whether in whole or redacted / summarised form,” said Links.
Furthermore, Links called on The Procurement Policy Unit, relevant Law enforcement as well as the National Assembly to conduct an inquiry into the procurement irregularities highlighted in the EY report in order to understand and fix the internal procurement procedures at TransNamib and the relationship between TN and TradePort
He also called on the National Assembly to propose solutions to deal with the matters raised by the organisation.
