Windhoek
A number of politicians and academics have criticised the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEEF) Bill for not being clear on what it is trying to achieve.
The NEEEF Bill is ostensibly designed to restructure the private sector through empowerment pillars, aimed at addressing a variety of needs of “previously disadvantaged people”, but politicians and academics raised a number of concerns about the Bill at a panel discussion held at Nampower Convention Centre in Windhoek on Wednesday.
The discussion was organised by the National Youth Council of Namibia and the panel was shared by Swapo politician Kazenambo Kazenambo, Swapo MP Veikko Nekundi and policy analyst, Jason Kasuto.
Kazenambo said the proposed law does not speak to the point, adding that if the Bill is for Black Economic Empowerment it should be named as such.
“The problem with public policy formulation is that it doesn’t need ambiguity. Don’t send two massages. It’s not a good way of formulating policy,” he said.
“Who are the racially disadvantage Namibians? What is the racially disadvantaged person?… I don’t know a racially disadvantaged Namibian,” he said, adding that “in this country we have black disadvantaged Namibians. Period!”
He said in Namibia we had formally disadvantaged women, saying all women in Namibia were regarded as minors, irrespective of their colour.
“If we have to talk about gender balance and that we are trying to empower women, let us say women’s empowerment, and we go further to say surely I don’t think that a daughter of certain businessman – although white – she was not disadvantaged.”
Kazenambo said he does not think that his child is disadvantaged, compared to unemployed black parents’ children.
“Mine are advantaged for the past 25 years, unless there is a case of negligence,” he said.
“When you read some of the provision in this Bill, you will say, ‘Come on, was this bill conceived somewhere during the Soviet Union Era?’” he remarked.
According to Kazenambo, a large part of the Bill speaks about the council, commission and how the commissioner is going to be appointed, but apart from that the Bill contains a lot of duplication.
Nekundi shared similar sentiments, saying the Bill should be referred back to the drafters since its discussion is a waste of time.
“Everything from A to Z is pathetic. This Bill must go back to the drawing board so that people who know what black is can go and write the word ‘black’, and so that people who know what economic empowerment is can and write the word ‘economic empowerment’,” he said.
On his part, Kasuto noted that in the preamble of the Bill there is an acknowledgement that there is an existing concern regarding economic status, particularly of racially disadvantaged women, youth and people living with disabilities. “In practical terms we have noticed foreign-owned companies in the construction industry operating in Namibia, where the bulk of their goods and services are procured by government… in some cases we see it as window dressing.”
The NEEEF framework is designed to supersede all other empowerment and transformation policies in the country. The Bill is one of 40 expected to be tabled in the National Assembly this year.