Many natural or juristic persons find themselves in a predicament when aggrieved by the conduct of the functionaries or institutions that infringe their right to just administrative action. Such administrative conduct usually unravels in a form of a decision of public administrators. 

Think about a decision of a public body that affects a tender bidder for public works, an applicant for employment that got disqualified, a pupil at a public school that was refused an admission or university student’s application for study grant refused by NSFAF, a civil servant that got suspended from work without valid reasons, a worker that got transferred to another workplace without good cause, etc. 

Article 18 of our Constitution imposes an obligation on all administrative bodies and administrative officials exercising public power to act fairly and reasonable and to comply with the requirements imposed upon such bodies and officials by common law and any relevant legislation. 

Furthermore, administrative bodies and officials must follow fair procedures and give written reasons when their actions adversely affect the rights of any person. 

Most of us remember the mantra and/ or admonition from Namibia’s third president, the late Hage Geingob, may his soul continue to rest in peace, as he used to scold those administrative officials in public administrative bodies that they should respond to requests or applications by members of the public as quickly as possible by answering yes or no to such requests or applications, that when they say NO to such requests or applications they should provide written reasons for such answer. 

That’s just administrative law. 

In the absence of a legislation that promotes administrative justice, individuals affected by administrative action of public bodies or public officials would continue to suffer prejudice, and be left with no choice, but embark on a long route involving civil litigation and/or lodging labour referrals to the Office of the Labour Commissioner for relief, unfortunately such process is very expensive to sustain and tedious. 

These people in most cases, end up losing energy and running out of finances to fight and enforce their rights to administrative justice as civil litigation and labour arbitration matters drag for a long periods and in the process, force them to abandon their civil or labour litigation for lack of energy and finances. 

Technically justice is denied to those affected persons and injustice continues to prevail unabated whereas if there was a legislation in place, with clear remedies to affected persons, such aggrieved persons would be able to enforce their rights to just administrative action with ease and cheaply as penalties for would be offenders could be spelt out by legislation. 

So, Namibia must consider to have legislation to control administrative actions that are not fair and just and when they are not in line with the prescriptions of the law, such action should be corrected and/or set aside under such legislation. 

A clear and identifiable remedy should be spelt out to protect individuals who happened to be prejudiced by administrative action of such public bodies and officials so that they can lodge their complaints against such impugned administrative action cheaply and expeditiously. 

This call came at a time when the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations invited written submissions on legislation reforms and proposal for new laws or amendments to existing ones. 

This is apparent so as the ministry says it supports President Netumbo Nandi- Ndaitwah’s call on citizens to participate in legislative reform. 

In my own right I make this submission that the relevant authority should consider introducing a legislation titled Promotion of Administrative Justice Act whose purpose should be to give effect to the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair and to the right to written reasons for administrative action as contemplated under Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution. 

Such bill should be tabled in the National Assembly in order to assist affected persons that find themselves in subservient positions by administrative bodies and officials who abuse their executive power by administrative action towards subordinates. 

-Lucas Tshuuya is a legal practitioner from Onaanda in the Uukwambi district.