The Minister of Health and Social Services recently boasted that the ministry saved more than N$200 million through better procurement practices. On the surface, this is good news. But before we clap, let’s pause. Why should we celebrate a ministry for simply not wasting money? Praising a government department for finally buying goods at fair value is like applauding a fish for swimming. It exposes the rot in our procurement system rather than proving its efficiency. And at the heart of this rot is the phenomenon of “middlemen.”
The mrise of the middleman
Middlemen exist in every economy. They connect buyers and sellers, bridge supply gaps, and sometimes grease bureaucratic wheels. In a globalised market, where Namibia must source drugs from India or equipment from Germany, it is unrealistic to expect ministries to negotiate directly with every manufacturer. Intermediaries step in to fill that void. But here, middlemen are not just logistical fixers, they are parasites fattened by government weakness. They exploit gaps in systems, inflate prices, and turn procurement into a casino of mark-ups. The state, instead of negotiating firmly on behalf of its citizens, often becomes a willing accomplice.
The Illusion of value
Defenders of middlemen argue they provide efficiency, absorb logistical risk, and support local SMEs. That sounds noble. A Namibian-owned company facilitating the import of life-saving drugs could, in theory, both save lives and empower entrepreneurs. But too often, that theory collapses into practice where “empowerment” is code for entrepreneurs pocketing millions while providing no real service.
If a box of gloves costs N$50 in the open market but the government pays N$200 through a chain of “agents,” is that empowerment or daylight robbery? Let’s call it what it is: looting dressed up as commerce.
The cost of corruption
The health ministry’s N$200 million “saving” is not a triumph of reform, it is an indictment of years of waste. That money was not conjured out of thin air. It was money siphoned off from taxpayers through inflated tenders, padded invoices, and collusion between officials and their chosen middlemen. Every extra dollar paid to a middleman is a dollar stolen from a hospital bed, a nurse’s salary, or a rural clinic.
And let’s not pretend this is unique to health. From defence uniforms to school textbooks, the same pattern repeats: middlemen inflate costs, officials sign off, and the nation bleeds. Procurement has become one of the most lucrative businesses in Namibia, not for those who produce, but for those who insert themselves into the process and demand a cut.
Dependency and decay
The most dangerous aspect is not even the cost, it is the dependency. By relying so heavily on middlemen, ministries lose the ability to negotiate directly with manufacturers, benchmark global prices, or plan supply chains intelligently. Over time, the state becomes a permanent hostage to brokers, unable to act without them.
This is not just inefficiency, it is institutionalised decay. The government, elected to act in the public’s interest, ends up outsourcing its most basic function, buying goods, to private profiteers.
We must also confront politics. Middlemen thrive not because the state is naïve, but because powerful people benefit. Procurement is the golden goose of patronage. Tenders are handed to friends, cousins, or party loyalists who then subcontract the actual work, at a massive markup. It is not accidental; it is the system.
That is why reforms stall. That is why every attempt at electronic procurement, transparent bidding, or independent oversight faces resistance. Too many hands are in the cookie jar.
What must be done
Eliminating middlemen entirely is unrealistic. Namibia is too small a market to always buy directly from global producers. But we can, and must cut out the parasites. Here is how:
- Cap mark-ups: Suppliers should be forced to disclose cost structures, with clear ceilings on allowable margins.
- Benchmark internationally: Ministries must have access to global price data to know when they are being fleeced.
- Digital procurement: Move everything online. If every Namibian could log in and see who bid what price, the space for collusion would shrink overnight.
- Direct negotiations: For big-ticket items like pharmaceuticals or defence equipment, the government must deal directly with manufacturers. If Botswana can do it, why can’t we?
- Accountability at the top: Stop scapegoating junior officials. If a ministry overspends by hundreds of millions, the executive director and minister must answer, not some clerk at government stores.
Enough with the applause
The N$200 million “saving” should anger us, not please us. It is proof that for years we have been robbed blind under the cover of bureaucracy. It is proof that the state has normalised waste to the point where efficiency is now treated as heroism.
Middlemen have a place, but not as leeches draining the public purse. Their role should be logistical, not financial; supportive, not extractive. Until we fix this, every tender remains a potential crime scene.
Let us stop clapping when the government finally does its job. Fish swim because that is what fish do. The government is meant to spend public money wisely because that is what the government is for. The day we stop celebrating “savings” and start demanding systemic change will be the day Namibia finally begins to close the leaks in its procurement bucket.
