Healthcare procurement scandal reflects poor governance

A Namibian think tank has called for an in-depth investigation into procurement practices in the healthcare system, saying that the healthcare sector has been a “persistent governance challenge”.

Frederico LinksThe Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) released its latest procurement tracker in Windhoek on Thursday.

Research associate Frederico Links said in his presentation that the ministry’s procurement processes, both in buying medicines and other tenders, require full transparency and increased oversight.

“It seems obvious that what needs to happen first, parallel to the ongoing criminal probes, is for a wide-ranging investigation to be commissioned and conducted into why health ministry procurement has been such a stubborn and persistent governance challenge,” Links said.

He said corruption in the healthcare sector has been ongoing and regularly reported on for the past decade.