High Court dismisses MediPark’s ARV tender challenge
The High Court has dismissed an urgent application by medical wholesaler, Medipark Pharmaceutical Wholesalers in which they seek to restrain the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) from proceeding with an anti-retroviral medicine bid.
The company had petitioned the High Court for an interim interdict to restrain the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the CPBN from procuring the supply and delivery of ARVs through an open international bidding process.
MediPark requested the High Court to review and set aside the decision to procure the ARV medication through the bidding that commenced on 28 September 2020 and closed on 14 December 2020.
High Court Judge, Esi Schimming-Chase dismissed the urgent application. Schimming-Chase found that the urgency was self-created and that Medipark Pharmaceutical Wholesalers had enough time from 28 September 2020 to approach the courts but only did so on 14 December 2020.
As a result of this ruling by the High Court, the CPBN proceeded with the bid opening on 14 December 2020 as stipulated by relevant legislation. In total, CBPN received 18 bids for this procurement.
