In many ways, the Namibian procurement policy is similar to that of South Africa, and the ease with which South Africans do business in Namibia is related to the strong links between the two countries. The Namibian Dollar (N$) is eqivalent to the South African Rand (ZAR). Most of the South African banks also operate in Namibia. Nevertheless, differences between the two countries do exist.

The Tender Board of Namibia falls under the Namibian Ministry of Finance, and only deals with the government procurement of services where the contract value exceeds N$10 000 (or R10 000 ZAR). The rules governing the system of tendering in Namibia are laid down in 3 pieces of legislation:

• Tender Board of Namibia Act (No 16 of 1996)
• Tender Board Regulations (approved in 1996)
• Tender Board of Namibia Code of Procedure (No 191 of 1997).

Although the Tender Board of Namibia is a comparatively large board (with over 20 members attending most Board meetings), attendance of only 8 members constitutes a quorum. The Tender Board consists mainly of representatives from government offices, ministries and agencies nominated by the Minister of Finance. There is no requirement that the Tender Board must meet once a week or once a month: it is up to the chair-person of the Board to convene or postpone a meeting of the Tender Board.

The aim of the rules of the Tender Board is to ensure that tenders are awarded in a fair, accountable way. If a member of the Board is found guilty of having been involved in awarding a tender in which he or she has a direct interest, that member is liable to a maximum fine of N$500 000 or 10 years imprisonment, or both. The minimum period from publication of a tender to the closing date should not be less than 21 days. Each call for tenders must be published in the Namibia Government Gazette and at least one Namibian newspaper. The Namibia Tender Bulletin is a weekly publication that publishes tender advertisements, and it comes out on Fridays. One unique aspect is that the Government Gazette and the Tender Bulletin are published by private sector companies under contract to the government.

Although the primary aim of the Tender Board is to ensure that tenders are awarded to the best bid in an open or competitive bidding process, the procurement policy of Namibia does permit price preferences according to certain socio-economic goals and strategies. A formula has been worked out for calculating the extent of preference to be granted to a particular consortium or consultant. The main preference is for consultants and contractors domiciled in Namibia. There are other preference criteria that may be used as well: i.e. a bidder may obtain extra preferential points if the methodology proposed will employ a number of people in small local industries, people in the communal areas or notified underdeveloped areas, or will implement the Namibian government's affirmative action policy. Tenderers are required to register on Namibian government's service providers' database in order to obtain preferential recognition.

The following preferences or reservations apply in Namibia:

• Namibian domicile – 5% preference to persons domiciled or companies incorporated in Namibia.
• Support of small scale Namibian industries - 2% preference if more than 10 but fewer than 25 workers in small scale industries are employed; 3% of more than 24 but fewer than 50 workers are employed; 5% if more than 50 workers are employed.
• Employment creation in communal or underdeveloped areas – 2% if more than 10 but fewer than 25 people in communal areas are employed; 3% if more than 24 but fewer than 50 people are employed; and 5% if more than 50 people are employed.
• Implementing the approved affirmative action policy – 2 to 3% preference may be granted, depending on the merits of the case, i.e. structured training programmes, employment of women or handicapped people, other programmes benefiting disadvantaged Namibian citizens.

Unlike in Botswana (where preference points are allocated to those who are Botswana citizens) and in South Africa (where preference points are allocated to blacks, women, and disabled people), in Namibia preference points are mainly allocated to individuals and companies that are domiciled in Namibia. However, the Namibian procurement policy does also encourage wider social upliftment projects by means of preferences for consultants and contractors who create employment in poorer rural areas.