Public interest must prevail in P662m tender saga :: Mmegi Online

The controversy surrounding the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education’s determined efforts to award a multimillion pula e-learning tender to a newly established company with just three months of registration in Botswana represents more than a simple contractual dispute.

It strikes at the very heart of how public funds should be managed and protected. As Justice Isaac Lesetedi rightly emphasised, public procurement cases must centre on public interest, not on who wins or loses. The Ministry’s baffling insistence on proceeding with this deeply flawed direct appointment of Emeritus Training Academy Botswana, despite clear findings of irregularities from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and court interventions, demands serious public scrutiny.

The Ministry’s use of direct procurement, a process intended only for exceptional circumstances, fails to meet the basic standards of justification required by procurement regulations.

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