RETIRED economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu said the new code of good practice conduct launched on Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance is meaningless if there is no real power to fight corruption.

The code of conduct is aimed at granting exclusive preferences to local suppliers.

"There seems to be no real power to eliminate corruption from the highest authority. If there is no real power to remove corruption, then the code of conduct will just be an empty paper and meaningless.

"The code of practice should be followed up with concrete means to fight and root out corruption," he said.

Kakujaha-Matundu said almost every tender that has gone through the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) has been dragged through the courts.

"The CPBN needs to do its job properly or the governing authority should take the board to task," he said.

Kakujaha-Matundu said giving tenders to those without businesses indicates that the board has not done due diligence.

"Tenders are now given to briefcase entities and never deliver what is supposed to be delivered to the public," he said.

CPBN spokesperson spokesperson Johana Kambala said they would be able to attend to questions sent by The Namibian today or tomorrow.

Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi said the code of good practice is meant to support real business, not briefcase entities.

"It will grant preference to Namibian suppliers and it will be applied by the CPBN and public entities to the procurement of certain goods, works, and services. The code will go a long way in empowering small and medium enterprises, the youth, women, and local businesses.

"Namibians, let's take advantage of this opportunity created by the government to make Namibia a better place," Shiimi said.

The code will grant price preferences during evaluation to categories of local suppliers and manufacturers, he said.

"The code of conduct will grant exclusive preferences to local suppliers as defined in the Amended Public Procurement Act through the reservation of procurement for certain goods, works and services.

"For procurement subject to national preference, a margin of up to 10% price preference will be given to suppliers meeting the requirements," he said.