Desie Heita
7 December 2007
Windhoek — An urgent application by Murray & Roberts and Namibia Construction to stop a Chinese company from commencing work on a government building was thrown out of the High Court last Friday.
High Court Judge Louis Muller was not convinced, beyond doubt, that the application before him met the requirements for the court to deem it as urgent.
The ruling was received with disappointment by the two applicants with one saying "the judge appeared to be in a holiday mood". The applicants said they will consult their lawyers on the next step.
Namibia Construction and Murray & Roberts lodged an urgent application with the High Court last week, wanting to have the decision to award the construction tender to China Nanjing International set aside and declared null and void. The two companies said it was in breach of the Constitutions and a number of other laws.
On 21 September the Tender Board had awarded China Nanjing International an N$74.4 million tender to construct the head offices of the Ministry of Lands, Resettlement & Rehabilitation, which is along Robert Mugabe Avenue.Namibia Construction and Murray & Roberts, who both tendered for the job, objected to the appointment saying that the Chinese company did not meet many of the pre-requisites stipulated by the tender, specifically citing compliant with the Affirmative Action Act and the Labour Act.
On 8 October their lawyers wrote to the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications threatening legal action if the decision was not reviewed. The Tender Board secretary, Meriam Onesmus, responded by re-affirming her organisation's decision to award the tender to China Nanjing International.
"The Tender Board is of the view that the grounds of review enumerated in your letter are devoid of any substance and will not withstand judicial scrutiny," Onesmus wrote back.
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