IMELDA AMBONDO
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says the implementation of the Access to Information Act and the amending of the Public Procurement Amendment Bill of 2025 will improve transparency in the public tendering system.
The appointment of the first Information Commissioner is expected soon, marking a major step in enforcing the ATI law.
IPPR said the Act will give the public, journalists, and civil society stronger legal grounds to demand government information.
According to IPPR research associate expert Frederico Links, “The ATI Act and the Procurement Amendment Bill together can transform how information is shared and accessed. But enforcement is what will determine whether this transparency becomes real or remains on paper.”
The amendment bill aims to create a Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to replace the weak Procurement Policy Unit, improve compliance, and introduce penalties for violations. It also proposes new oversight bodies such as a procurement court and an administrative review committee.
Links said the reforms “appear to expand and strengthen transparency mechanisms, but without proper funding and staffing, they will fall short.”
If passed by 2026, these frameworks could finally close long-standing loopholes in Namibia’s procurement system, ensuring public entities publish, disclose, and respond to information requests within clear deadlines, a step Links says would mark “a turning point for accountability.”
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