The Namibian government has unveiled a plethora of new state-owned entities to participate in state tenders – in competition with the private sector. Radical amendments to the Public Procurement Act published this month almost double procurement thresholds in most cases and list seventy-five new SOEs who are now also in line to be awarded state tenders without calling for open public bids. This is in addition to according ‘high-value’ status to seven SOEs – marginalizing the Central Procurement Board even further from providing transparency in Namibia’s public procurement landscape.
21 August 2026
The Namibian government has unveiled a plethora of new commercial state-owned entities to benefit from increased thresholds of procurement – expectedly without public scrutiny in most cases and in competition with the private sector. Radical amendments to the Public Procurement Act published this month not only raise procurement values significantly, but list seventy-five new state-owned entities who now qualify for higher procurement thresholds without involving the Central Procurement Board.
In addition, ‘high-value’ status has been accorded to seven existing SOEs – marginalizing the Central Procurement Board even further from providing transparency in Namibia’s public procurement landscape. The new SOEs span investment, property and township development, power distribution, security, transport infrastructure, fisheries, food supply, general trade, ICT, and telecommunications – amongst others. These are now in line to be awarded government tenders under the ‘execution by public entity (EPE) without public bidding. Many of the companies are not registered on BIPA, while some have been deregistered.
Some of the new SOEs are ‘shelf companies’, mostly used to bypasses the waiting period required to register a startup corporate entity and meeting minimum age requirements often demanded for government tenders – an indication of the urgency with which government decision-makers intended to on-board new, politically-connected players in the procurement market. With cryptic shelf company names such as ‘BV Investment Six Hundred & Forty-Five (Pty) Ltd’ and ‘Gazania Investments One Hundred and Thirty-Six (Pty) Ltd’, there is no transparency in what these new SOEs are about – for the benefit of the general public – nor is there any indication of their main line of business or core competencies – usually a requirement for participation in most public tenders.
It would require additional investigation to determine these companies’ articles of association, their shareholding and beneficial ownership, corporate structures, the composition of their governing boards, in addition their precise connections to the state – and to the ruling party’s patronage networks.
This came to light in the ‘Amendments to Regulations under Section 79 of the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015’, quietly published in Government Gazette 8989 of 04 August 2026 after being signed off by finance minister Ericah Shafudah. Also featuring prominently are the subsidiaries of the defence ministry’s shadowy August 26 group of companies who are now all listed after being absent from the earlier version of the Public Procurement Act.
August 26 Construction Company has been the recipient of several state construction contracts in the past, although it was technically unqualified to carry out contracts ‘executed by public entity’ because it was not listed as an SOE under the PPA.
Public entities almost double in number
The number of state-owned entities now listed in the amended regulations has almost doubled from 79 in 2017 to 154 in 2026. In 2017 the SOEs consisted of:
nine under Category 1;
24 under Category 2; and
46 under Category 3. The number of SOEs listed in the Government Gazette 8989 increased to 154:
Category 1 = 15 (5 from 2017 + 10 new)
Category 2 = 29 (19 from 2017 + 10 new)
Category 3 = 103 (41 from 2017 + 50 new + 12 VTCs); in addition to a further seven public entities that now qualify for high value procurement. These SOEs now include:
all nine subsidiaries of the defence ministry’s August 26 group of companies (including one that was deregistered on BIPA in 2024) plus many entities hardly anyone has heard of, such as: Brak Property Development 35 & 36; Namibia Bricks Enterprises (Pty) Ltd; Namibia Cattle Procurement (Pty) Ltd; New Cairo Investment (Pty) Ltd; Namibia Meat Importers & Exporters (Pty) Ltd; Tsumeb Municipality Enterprises (Pty) Ltd; Tsumeb Municipality Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd; Seacope Freezer Fishing (Pty) Ltd and The Namibian Trust for Maritime & Fisheries Training. Also included are companies not previously known to be state-owned entities such as: Bridgehead Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd; BV Investment Six Hundred and Forty-Five (Pty) Ltd; Capricorn Power Supply (Pty) Ltd; CommuniTel Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd; Gazania Investments One Hundred and Thirty-Six (Pty) Ltd; Hanganeni Artisanal Fishing Association; Henties Bay Waterfront Company (Pty) Ltd; Inceptus Holding (Pty) Ltd; Namibia Rail Construction; NAYOSE Trading Enterprises (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd t/a Youth Security Services; NUST Hotel School; Ongwediva Trade Fair Society; PowerTel (Pty) Ltd; Silnam Information & Technology Solutions (Pty) Ltd; Star Protection Services (Pty); Walvis Bay Waterfront Company (Pty) Ltd; War Veterans Trust Fund and Zizabona Transmission Company Ltd. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia has been split into NAMCOR Exploration & Production (Pty) Ltd and NAMCOR Petroleum Trading & Distribution (Pty) Ltd but NAMCOR is also listed as one of the seven high value SOEs. The Meat Corporation of Namibia now also has three subsidiaries: Meatco Northern Communal Areas (Pty) Ltd, Meatco (Europe) Ltd and Meatco (UK) Ltd. Three Regional Electricity Distributors and the VTCs are listed for the first time as SOEs. Some previous SOEs are no longer listed in 2026, such as Air Namibia, NAMFISA, SME Bank and NamZim (previously associated with New Era Publications).
Additional 30 OMAS, 14 regional councils and 63 local authorities In addition to the 154 SOEs, there are about 30 Offices, Ministries and Agencies (OMAs), 14 regional councils and 63 municipalities and village councils:
OMAs (according to the GRN portal), consisting of 14 ministries – some with sub-ministries;
three offices plus three courts;
ten agencies;
14 regional councils;
39 municipalities and
24 village councils (according to Tender Bulletin statistics).
New procurement thresholds mean less involvement of the CPB
Government Gazette 8989 also lists new procurement thresholds for public entities below which they may conduct their own procurement without having to go through the Central Procurement Board of Namibia. With the higher procurement thresholds and many of the high value state contracts increasingly going directly to state-owned entities through their line ministries, the CPB loses even more of its significance in high value procurement administration.
The CPB was specifically established under the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015 to replace the former Tender Board and to conduct all high value procurement on behalf of all state entities – it is now sidelined as never before. Although prone to inefficiency, the CPB has at least conducted its procurement mandate with relative transparency – publishing all stages from bid opening reports to evaluations (citing the reasons for non-compliance or rejection) and awards on its website in the public domain.
This transparency in public procurement – limited as it is – has already been largely undone by the growing trend of secret procurement contracts awarded to some state entities without public competitive bidding. As reported previously by the Tender Bulletin, there is no public insight into bids awarded to the Defence Force-owned August 26 subsidiaries or the Roads Contractor Company, who then tend to engage sub-contractors – again without any public procurement visibility.
While some might argue that the higher procurement thresholds will allow for faster bid evaluations and awards, the legal challenges and litigations which have bogged down the CPB’s work can also happen at the level of any state entity. The same can be said for oversight functions and delayed completion of projects.
CATEGORY 1 new SOEs and increased thresholds
The thresholds for Category 1 entities have been increased to procurement values not exceeding:
N$45-m for goods from N$25-m previously,
N$60-m for works from N$35-m previously,
N$35-m for consultancy services from N$20-m previously, and * N$25-m for non-consulting services from N$15-m previously.
Category 1 includes all offices, ministries and agencies, the National Assembly, National Council, all Regional Councils defined in Section 1 of the Regional Councils Act 22 of 1992 [previously CAT 2] and all municipalities as per Part I of Schedule 1 of the Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992. These include, from 2017:
Air Namibia [no longer listed in 2026]
Electoral Commission of Namibia
Namibia Airports Company Ltd [registered on BIPA 04-Nov-98 – BO compliant]
Namibian Institute of Pathology [previously CAT 2] [registered on BIPA 28-Aug-00 – BO pending]
Namibia Student Financial Assistant Fund [no longer listed in 2026]
National Housing Enterprise.
New SOEs added in 2026:
August 26 Construction (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 23-Jul-13 – BO pending]
August 26 Holdings (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 14-Aug-98 – BO compliant]
August 26 Logistics (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 13-Jun-13 – BO compliant]
August 26 Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 11-Jul-19 – BO compliant]
Bank of Namibia
Central Procurement Board of Namibia
Mobile Telecommunications Ltd [registered on BIPA 06-Oct-94 – BO compliant
NAMCOR Exploration & Production (Pty) Ltd [registered on BIPA 13-Apr-00 – BO compliant]
NAMCOR Petroleum Trading & Distribution (Pty) Ltd [registered on BIPA 22-Aug-00 – BO compliant]
NAMCOR is also listed separately as a high-value SOE
Namibia Civil Aviation Authority.
CATEGORY 2 new SOEs and increased thresholds The thresholds for Category 2 entities have been increased to procurement values not exceeding:
N$35-m for goods from N$20-m previously,
N$55-m for works from N$30-m previously,
N$30-m for consultancy services from N$15-m previously, and
N$20-m for non-consulting services from N$10-m previously. Category 2 includes all municipalities as per Part II of Schedule 1 of the Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992. These include, from 2017:
Agricultural Bank of Namibia
AGRIBUSDEV [no longer listed]
Development Bank of Namibia Ltd [registered with BIPA on 14-Mar-03 – BO pending]
Electricity Control Board
Epangelo Mining Company [registered with BIPA on 03-Jul-08 – BO pending]
Namibia Wildlife Resorts [only Namibia Wildlife Resorts (Pty) Ltd registered with BIPA on 19-Jan-99 – BO compliant]
National Youth Council
National Youth Service
Roads Contractor Company [registered with BIPA on 10-Mar-00 – BO pending]
SME Bank of Namibia [no longer listed]
University of Namibia
Windhoek Country Club Resort [registered with BIPA on 14-Ot-94 – BO compliant]. New SOEs added in 2026:
Agro Marketing & Trade Agency (AMTA) [registered with BIPA on 01-Oct-13 – BO compliant]
CENORED – Okahandja JV [registered with BIPA on 05-Apr-16 – BO compliant]
Erongo RED (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 08-Feb-04 – BO compliant]
Inceptus Holding (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 24-Aug-17 – BO compliant]
Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 18-Apr-16 – BO compliant]
Namibia Post Ltd [previously: Namibia Post & Telecom Holdings and Namibia Post & Telecommunications Ltd] [registered with BIPA on 31-Jul-92 – BO compliant]
Namibia Rail Construction
Namibia Revenue Agency
NORED (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 27-Apr-01 – BO compliant]
PowerCom (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 31-Oct-00 – BO pending].
CATEGORY 3 new SOEs and increased thresholds The thresholds for Category 3 entities have been doubled to procurement values not exceeding:
N$30-m for goods from N$15-m previously,
N$40-m for works from N$30-m previously,
N$20-m for consultancy services from N$10-m previously, and
N$10-m for non-consulting services from N$5-m previously. Category 3 includes all towns listed under Schedule 2 and all villages under Schedule 3 of the Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992. These include, from 2017:
Accreditation Board of Namibia
Agro-Tour Company [not registered on BIPA]
Agrotour Development Initiative (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 09-Jul-08 but de-registered on 23-Jun-24 – BO compliant; August 26 subsidiary]
Business & Intellectual Property Agency
Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia
Diamond Board of Namibia
Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia
Financial Intelligence Centre
Fishery Observer Agency
Game Products Trust Fund
Karakul Board of Namibia
L deritz Waterfront Company (Pty) Ltd [not on BIPA]
Meat Corporation of Namibia
Minerals Development Fund of Namibia
Namibia College of Open Learning
Namibia Estates Agents Board
Namibia Film Commission
Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust
Namibia Institute for Mining Technology
Namibia Maritime Fisheries Institute
Namibia National Reinsurance Corp [registered with BIPA on 31-Aug-99 – BO compliant]
Namibia Press Agency
Namibia Qualifications Authority
Namibia Special Risk Insurance Association
Namibia Standards Institution
Namibia Training Authority
Namibian Agronomic Board
Namibian Competition Commission
National Art Gallery of Namibia
National Council for Higher Education
National Commission on Research, Science & Technology
National Disability Council
National Fishing Corp of Namibia (under Seaflower Company) [registered with BIPA on 26-Jun-92 – BO compliant]
National Theatre of Namibia
NamZim [no longer listed]
National Heritage Council
New Era Publications
Roads Fund Administration
Sat-Com Company (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 25-Oct-91 – BO compliant; August 26 subsidiary]
New Cairo Investment (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 04-Aug-22 – BO pending]
NUST Hotel School
Ongwediva Trade Fair Society [registered with BIPA on 17-Jn-20 – BO compliant]
Oshakati Premier Electric [registered with BIPA on 07-Feb-00 – BO compliant]
PowerTel (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 08-Apr-04 – BO non-compliant]
Seacope Freezer Fishing (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 13-Aug-03 – BO compliant]
Seaflower Lobster Corporation Ltd [registered with BIPA on 29-Sep-53 – BO compliant]
Seaflower Whitefish Corporation Ltd [registered with BIPA on 01-Oct-93 – BO compliant]
Sea Side Hotel & Spa (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 07-Sep-07 – BO compliant; August 26 subsidiary]
Silnam Information & Technology Solutions (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 03-Aug-01 – BO compliant]
Star Protection Services (Pty) [registered with BIPA on 26-Sep-95 but deregistered on 25-Feb-10]
Swakopmund Hotel & Entertainment Centre
The Namibian Trust for Maritime & Fisheries Training
Tsumeb Municipality Enterprises (Pty) Ltd [only Tsumeb Municipality Trading Enterprises (Pty) Ltd registered with BIPA on 24-Nov-15 – BO non-compliant]
Tsumeb Municipality Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 18-Feb-15 – BO non compliant]
Walvis Bay Waterfront Company (Pty) Ltd [not on BIPA]
War Veterans Trust Fund
Windhoeker Maschinenfabrik (Pty) Ltd [registered with BIPA on 14-Aug-98 – BO compliant; August 26 subsidiary]
Zizabona Transmission Company Ltd [registered with BIPA on 06-Nov-13 – BO compliant].
Seven high value public entities can do without the CPB The new thresholds for seven SOEs that were moved from different categories to ‘high value public entities’ are for procurement values not exceeding
N$200-m for goods from N$25 previously CAT 1 and N$20-m for CAT 2,
N$500-m for works from N$35 previously for CAT 1 and N$30-m for CAT 2],
N$200-m for consultancy services from N$20-m previously for CAT 1 and N$15-m for CAT 2, and
N$200-m for non-consultancy services from N$15-m for CAT 1 and N$10-m for CAT 2. This is up to 15 times more than the procurement thresholds these SOEs enjoyed previously and therefore excludes the Central Procurement Board below these raised thresholds. In contrast to the CPB, where the full procurement process is posted on its website, these seven high value public entities are less forthcoming with information about their procurement outcomes. While the new tenders can generally be found on their websites, the bid evaluations/executive summaries (ES) and outcomes/awards are not always available for public scrutiny. These seven new ‘high value’ SOEs are:
Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) [previously CAT 1 – bid openings and awards can be found on the website but no Executive Summaries; not on BIPA only Namport Property Holdings].
Namibia Power Corporation (Pty) Ltd (NamPower [previously CAT 1 – bid openings, ES and awards can be found on the website; registered with BIPA on 09-Dec-64 – BO pending].
Namibia Water Corporation Ltd (Namwater) [previously CAT 1 – bid openings, ES and awards can be found on website; registered with BIPA on 09-Dec-97 – BO compliant].
National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Pty) Ltd (Namcor) [previously CAT 1 – bid openings can be found on the website, but tender awards posted only up to 2024, with two in 2025, and there are no Executive Summaries; there are also no separate bidding processes for NAMCOR Exploration & Production (Pty) Ltd or for NAMCOR Petroleum Trading & Distribution (Pty) Ltd listed on the website; registered with BIPA on 06-Nov-67 – BO compliant].
Roads Authority [previously CAT 2 – bid openings, ES and awards can be found on the website; not on BIPA].
Telecom Namibia Ltd [previously CAT 2 – bid openings and some awards are listed on the website temporarily, before being taken off; registered with BIPA on 31-Jul-92 – BO compliant].
TransNamib Holdings Ltd [previously CAT 1 – bid openings are listed on the website only until 2023, the awards list is from 2017 only until 2023 and the last ES posted on the website is from 2022; registered with BIPA on 31-Mar-99 – BO compliant].
Higher procurement thresholds per procurement method The procurement thresholds for the different procurement methods were also increased. Annexure 2 of Government Gazette No. 8989 defines new procurement thresholds for the different procurement methods:
Open international bidding is for procurement contracts where the estimated value does not exceed N$45-m [previously N$25-m] for goods and N$70-m [previously N$40-m] for works (consultancy and non-consultancy services – not applicable).
Restricted bidding is for procurement contracts where the estimated value does not exceed N$5-m [previously N$3-m] for goods, N$5-m [previously N$3-m] for works and N$5-m [previously N$2-m] for non-consultancy services (consultancy services – not applicable).
Request for sealed quotations is for procurement contracts where the estimated value does not exceed N$3-m [previously N$2-m] for goods, N$3-m [previously N$3-m] for works and N$3-m [previously N$2-m] for non-consultancy services (consultancy services – not applicable).
Request for proposals is not applicable for goods, works and non-consultancy services but for consultancy services where the estimated value does not exceed N$9-m [previously N$5-m].
Small value procurement is for procurement contracts where the estimated value does not exceed N$30,000 [previously N$15,000] for goods, works, consultancy and non-consultancy services.
How the PPA amendments are justified
As could be expected, government spokespersons justified the amendments to the PPA on the grounds of enhancing efficiency and transparency in public procurement.
Ministry of Finance deputy director in the Directorate of Professionalisation & Capacity Strengthening, Willibarth Haraseb said: “The inclusion of additional public entities within the procurement framework promotes uniform application of procurement standards throughout the public sector, enhancing transparency and strengthening accountability”.
For businesses, the changes potentially widen the pool of public-sector contracts available for competitive bidding, with more than 80 additional entities now falling within the procurement framework [in direct competition to the private sector]. “The amendments introduce several important changes in strengthening the efficacy, responsiveness and oversight of the public procurement ecosystem in Namibia,” Haraseb said.
Deputy Director in the Directorate of Legal Support & Compliance, Amalia Shikongo, said the higher thresholds are intended to reduce administrative delays and allow public entities to process procurement more efficiently. “Adjusting thresholds ensures the framework remains responsive, promotes operational efficiency, and reduces unnecessary administrative delays”.
The creation of the seven ‘high-value’ thresholds for NamPower, NamPort, NamWater, Telecom Namibia, NAMCOR, TransNamib and the Roads Authority, was “to facilitate more responsive decision-making and reduce delays associated with referral to the Central Procurement Board, while ensuring accountability through enhanced oversight measures”. The changes are also expected to reduce the volume of transactions referred to the Central Procurement Board, allowing it to focus more heavily on strategic and high-value public procurement (The Brief, 19-Aug-26).
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