Windhoek
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration has called on members of the public to submit their views on a possible winter time change.
Namibian winter time commences on the first Sunday of April, when Namibians are required to turn their clocks back one hour, setting the time one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In summer, local time is two hours ahead of GMT.
The country reverts to summer time on the first Sunday of September every year.Newspapers carried notices from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration requesting input from the public on the possible time change.
Members of the public who are interested in providing their views are requested to forward their views with the heading ‘Input on time change in Namibia’ via mail, electronic mail or hand delivery to the ministry.
Time change in Namibia is currently applicable in terms of the Time Act, Act 3 of 1994.
Last October, the Minister of Information and Communication Technology Tjekero Tweya announced that a request was made to Cabinet by the Minister of Home and Affairs and Immigration Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana on a time change. He promised that the government would launch public consultations on whether to do away with the current practice.
“When the time changes to winter time some parts of the country remain with the old time, like Zambezi, and this creates some uneasiness because if you change the time then the lives of the people change,” Tweya stated at the time.
Coupled with complaints from individuals, Tweya said, business people have on some occasions also complained that the time change results in unproductivity because it affects operating hours as well as flying time.
“Since it is already dark at 17h00 during winter time, some people have indicated that the situation presents security concerns because it is unsafe when people come from work. Because of all this, government decided to allow the public to decide on the way forward. These issues were raised and we must listen to the people, regardless of who champions it,” the minister stated then.