Renthia Kaimbi
The N$5 million tender for reflective livestock gear was first advertised on the e-procurement platform in November 2025, but the availability of companies that could supply immediately led to an emergency procurement process, according to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).
This comes as questions have been raised about the transparency of the tender, which was piloted in the Khomas, Omusati and Oshana regions late last year.
Concerns centred on the decision to award the tender on an emergency basis just weeks before the festive season.
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) member of parliament Nelson Kalangula last week gave notice in parliament that he intends to question works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi over the animal visibility project tender.
Kalangula wants clarity on who was awarded the N$5 million tender for reflective ear tags and collars under the project.
However, the chairperson of the NRSC procurement committee, Ambrosius Tierspoor, said there was nothing irregular or secret about the process.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Monday, Tierspoor said a bid evaluation committee was established after the initial advertisement.
The committee found that the project needed to be piloted before the festive season, when livestock are often on the roads.
“We proposed to pilot the project during the festive season because the animals would still be on the roads. And at least, we approached the companies that had already presented [reflective livestock gear] to us. They even proposed reflective spray, but we didn’t consider it because we were largely focused on donkeys and larger livestock like cattle,” he said.
He said the companies had submitted similar proposals in October 2025 after a conference where works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi expressed interest in piloting reflective livestock gear.
The council decided to test the market through a public bid but noted that some companies already had samples available.
The emergency tender for 10 000 reflective ear tags and 10 000 reflective collars was awarded on 5 December 2025 to D’Koita Legacies Trading Enterprises CC and MJ Tanko Investments CC.
Tierspoor said the first batch of collars was delivered within 13 days of the award.
The ear tags were delayed due to clearance issues with the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA)’s customs and excise but have since been received.
Nekundi launched the pilot project at Embumba village in Oshikuku on 20 December 2025.
Tierspoor said the pilot aims to assess the impact on road safety and test the durability of the reflective gear over six months. The assessment period ends in July.
He said the long-term goal is to make reflective gear for livestock a legal requirement. Talks between the ministries of works and transport and agriculture, fisheries, water and land reform are ongoing.
With an estimated 1.6 million livestock in northern Namibia, Tierspoor said a mass rollout funded by the government would be too costly.
He estimated it would cost about N$180 million a year to tag 70% of livestock, which he said is not sustainable.
“If you institutionalise this, the people along the main roads will be urged to buy reflective ear tags for their animals. And if they don’t, we’ll put it in the law to say it is now unlawful for those large livestock to be without reflective ear tags because they’re killing our people,” he said.
He said the aim is also to grow a market for reflective livestock gear, with the private sector leading supply if the devices become mandatory.
Tierspoor said road accidents cost the government close to N$500 million a year. He compared the pilot to other road safety measures such as speed cameras and dash cameras on the B1 and B2 roads to hold drivers accountable.
He said farmers must also take responsibility for accidents caused by free-roaming animals. Namibia records hundreds of deaths each year linked to collisions with animals on the road.
“Over the six months, we will come back in July, do assessments and go and see if these animals, that are stray animals also, still cross the roads. Those assessments, we’ll only do in the evening to see the reflex ability of the material and engage those communities… because as it is, it is going to be heavy on the government’s pocket and the taxpayer’s. The end user, which is the farmer, benefits from buying reflective ear tags because if they are found in the road reserve, the drivers can easily spot them,” he said.
Tierspoor maintained that the procurement process followed the required procedures and oversight and rejected claims that it was conducted behind closed doors.
