By: John JP Lenga
Namibia has a veterinary cordon fence along its border with South Africa. It is 185 kilometres long. One hundred and fifty-five kilometres along the Orange River.
Thirty kilometres between the Klein Menasse and Mata Mata border posts. Its purpose is to keep foot-and-mouth disease out. To protect the N$5.7 billion export industry.
To keep the cattle in the south FMD-free and the beef flowing to Europe.
In June 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a tender for the construction of this fence.
Twenty-three bids were received. Eleven were considered responsive. They proceeded to financial evaluation.
On 18 August, the Central Procurement Board of Namibia issued a notice of selection naming China Jiangxi International JV Homefin as the successful bidder at N$126.4 million.
The statutory seven-day standstill period elapsed without any unsuccessful bidder seeking reconsideration.
Then something strange happened.
On 3 September, the CPBN issued a notice of intention to cancel the procurement under Section 54(1)(g) of the Public Procurement Act, stating that the process “does not create or achieve the expected outcome.” Bidders were given until 4 September at 17h00 to submit representations.
CJIN JV Homefin submitted its representations on 4 September. On the same day, the CPBN board resolved to proceed with an emergency procurement and award the contract to Punchu Trading CC JV China State Construction Engineering Co. Southern Africa for N$122 million.
The first-ranked bidder is now suing in the High Court.
The Allegations
The court papers, filed by Albertina Mutota, manager of Homefin Properties CC, allege that personnel from Punchu JV CSCESA were on the project site as early as 5 September, while the CPBN only formally awarded the contract on 7 September.
The application includes photographs showing Punchu JV CSCESA personnel at the site. A CPBN board member, Immanuel Kambinda, is alleged to have accompanied them, “pictured wearing blue jeans, safety boots and white shirt with CPBN logo/insignia.”
The court papers describe the alleged conduct as “evidence of possible coordination between the procurement board and Punchu JV CSCESA.”
The allegations have not been tested in court.
What the Experts Say
Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says the decision “could expose the board to legal challenges and create the impression that the cancellation was intended to favour a particular bidder.”
He says: “If you award the first bidder and cancel it and give it to the second bidder, you are opening the process for the first bidder approaching the court and seeking recourse.”
IPC shadow minister Michael Mulunga says the cancellation of a fully evaluated open tender and its replacement, on the same day, with an emergency procurement process is “deeply concerning.” He says it “sets a troubling precedent.”
LPM spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa says the party is concerned about “a growing trend of government institutions exploiting emergency procurement provisions.”
These are not abstract concerns. They are the documented reactions to a decision that was made in a single day, on the same day the first-ranked bidder submitted its representations.
The Consequence
Foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed at a commercial farm in the Karasburg State Veterinary District this week.
Ten of 11 cattle samples tested positive. The acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, Dr Charles Mubita, announced the outbreak in the National Assembly.
The response was immediate. All movement of cloven-hoofed animals suspended nationwide.
All imports and exports halted until further notice. Slaughter at export and local abattoirs, informal markets and social events stopped.
The National FMD Contingency Plan activated. Roadblocks set up at strategic areas.
The economic stakes are enormous. Beef exports are valued at approximately N$5.7 billion annually.
Europe absorbed 94 percent of Namibia’s beef exports in 2025. The livestock sector is valued at N$15 to 17 billion. It supports 70,000 to 90,000 direct and indirect livelihoods.
A macroeconomic risk analysis by Simonis Storm Securities estimates that a six-month export suspension could cost N$2.5 billion to N$3 billion, with GDP growth reduced by 0.5 percentage points. A 12-month disruption could cost N$5 billion to N$6 billion, reducing annual GDP growth by up to one percentage point.
Reinstatement of FMD-free status requires structured surveillance, verified eradication, World Organisation for Animal Health recognition, and bilateral renegotiation of export protocols. That process can take 12 to 24 months or longer.
The Warning That Was Already on the Record
This was not a surprise. A macroeconomic analysis in March 2026 warned that outbreaks in Botswana and South Africa risked Namibia’s vulnerability. It stated that “the regional livestock corridor is currently under strain” and that disease outbreaks are “no longer only a veterinary issue, but a macroeconomic risk linked to trade and growth.”
It said that biosecurity preservation must be treated not only as veterinary compliance but as “a core component of Namibia’s economic infrastructure.”
The warning was on the record. The risk was known. The fence was supposed to be the answer.
And the fence procurement was corrupted.
Accountability Gap
The CPBN cancelled a competitive tender that attracted 23 bids. It awarded the contract to the second-ranked bidder through emergency procurement.
It did so on the same day the first-ranked bidder submitted its representations. Court papers allege the winning company was on site before the award was formally issued. The first-ranked bidder is in court.
No public explanation has been provided for the cancellation. No public explanation has been provided for the emergency award. The CPBN board has not issued a statement.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform has not explained the decision. The board member alleged to have accompanied the bidder to the site has not commented.
The first-ranked bidder is in court. That is one form of accountability. But it is accountability for the bidders, not for the public. The public question remains unanswered: why was a competitive tender cancelled, and why was the contract awarded through emergency procurement on the same day, to the second-ranked bidder, while the first-ranked bidder was still in the process?
The outbreak is here. The shelves in Walvis Bay are empty. Kapana traders at Single Quarters have no stock. The Windhoek Show Livestock Expo is four days away. And the fence that was supposed to prevent all of this was not built.
A luta continua.
