Staff Reporter

Although the Namibian Planning and Construction Bill, which advocates for the implementation of a Construction Industries Council and overall regulation of the industry, was initially tabled in parliament in 2010, this legislation is yet to see the light of day. 

This is because Cabinet had sent the proposed legislation back to the drawing board for further work by the legal drafters. 

To this end, the Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIF) has again cautioned that failure to regulate the industry through the establishment of a regulatory council has wide-ranging repercussions. 

This, the CIF yesterday stated, leads to inefficient utilisation of public funds; lack of quality control in the industry, and lack of means to shape the domestic construction sector in the interest of bona fide locally-owned businesses. 

The CIF, via a statement, pointed out that the current works minister, John Mutorwa, is keen to support optimal regulation of the construction sector, as the current draft bill has already been submitted by him to Cabinet in early 2022, and was also discussed by the Cabinet Committee for Legislation. 

According to the CIF, the proposed legislation now needs to be reviewed by the Cabinet Committee for Legislation, headed up by the justice minister Yvonne Dauseb, after which the federation hopes the Bill will be ready for tabling in Parliament.

“It remains the CIF’s hope that the importance of creating a council for the sake of regulating the industry will be truly recognised by political leaders and legislators as a result of continuous attempts of the CIF to emphasise and highlight the urgency,” the CIF statement read.  In its statement, the CIF admitted that while there is progress, it is concerned about further delays should a change of leadership of the works and transport ministry take place in two years. 

“Generally, being reliant on the support of their technical teams within the authority, it takes time for newly appointed ministers to get acquainted with pending, albeit pressing matters. For the works and transport portfolio, it would include the urgency and importance of regulating the industry. 

Potentially, that would be the case if the process is such that the current bill for the establishment of a Namibian construction council will not be tabled in Parliament soon,” the CIF stated. 

Bärbel Kirchner, CEO of the CIF, said: “It has been a frustratingly lengthy process, and we are hopeful that we now see some definite steps in the right direction. One cannot help to have become somewhat disillusioned when one knows this is the one piece of legislation that can make all the difference in our industry, and it could have done so for many years in the past”.

“We have not only engaged Honourable Mr Mutorwa, but also other members of the Cabinet, including the Right Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Saara Kuugongelwa- Amadhila. In fact, we have hoped to have another meeting this year to once again press upon what difference it would make for our industry, our economy, our country… Of course, the CIF regards this matter as so important that we also went right to the top and requested an audience with His Excellency, Dr Hage Geingob, who referred the CIF to the line minister, Honourable Mr John Mutorwa”.

The CIF’s mandate, as a member-based organisation, does not include policing the industry, with the exception of its members, who have to adhere to a Code of Conduct. 

Therefore, the CIF argues that if enactment of a statutory regulating council does not materialise, one should not be surprised if there are government projects that are not completed with poor quality and below expected standards, or be surprised that tenderpreneurs remain to be involved. 

Kirchner remains hopeful that the current bill for the establishment of the construction council will find its way again to the Cabinet Committee for Legislation and then to Parliament. 

“Let’s be frank – we all know that we can regulate an industry. It has happened before in other sectors, right? And would you go to a medical doctor that is not registered with a council? We, therefore, can only appeal to our political leaders and legislators to act soon and regulate our industry; otherwise, there will be zero left of our industry, and we will become eventually solely dependent on foreign capacities,” said Kirchner. 

“Regulating the construction sector will help Namibia to address poverty and unemployment. It will resolve some of the issues relating to poor public health and educational infrastructure. Considering government policies, surely our appeal to have our industry regulated should not require any more convincing. With a regulatory council in place, we will see the start of a change in our construction sector in the interest of us all”. 

It appeared that the value and urgency of establishing a construction council had been recognised by the top leadership in 2018 when the Right Honourable Prime Minister mentioned in Parliament 2018 that a council would be established. 

This was in response to personally address letters to members of parliament by the CIF and a motion by a member of an opposition party that a parliamentary committee should be established to investigate the extent of foreign involvement, which was then turned down. 

During 2019, the development of a construction industries council seemed promising when at the Namibia Investment Summit, organised by the High Level Panel of the Economy, it had been agreed by government that a construction council would be established by the end of February 2020.