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Opinion – Basic laws impeding nation’s progress 

Opinion – Basic laws impeding nation’s progress 

The Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations recently called on members of the public to submit laws which, in their view, were or are impeding socio-economic development or progress of the country and set last week Friday, 13 June 2025, the deadline for submissions. 

This unusual request was indeed unprecedented and should, with all due respect, be accorded accordingly. I should admit that I indeed grabbed this grand opportunity to critically identify and eventually submit just in time, the relevant laws which in my opinion are a hinderance to our progress as an maturing democracy or nation.  So, Minister of Justice and Labour, kindly receive my suggestions on laws that in my opinion, need to be reviewed and subsequently amended, which I strongly believe are impeding our socio-economic development and progress as a nation that one day wants to be industrialized.

 I however sincerely hope this was a sincere and honest request from the relevant authority and that they will do the right thing and consider the input from the public and amend the laws accordingly for the true benefit and progress of our country.   

 My submission in this regard are therefore as follows:

 1. That the Vice President of the country be elected directly by members of the public who are eligible to do so as per our nation’s Constitution instead of being appointed by the President as is currently the case. As any national “Executive” powers that are bestowed upon any citizen’s hands should come directly from the public as an appointed individual does not represent the true wishes of the voting masses in a democratic setting. 

That he or she was not given that democratic right by the people and should hence have no such powers to supremely govern them in any way possible.  

 And that failure to amend such a law, the National Assembly should vote as per our Constitution that such a position in its current shape or form be abolished as it could pose huge constitutional challenges or risks in the foreseeable future as the nation could one day find itself with an unelected individual weilding too much undeserved power, who could take the country in the wrong direction with no legal constitutional consequences or even being held accountable due to the fact that he/she was never elected directly by the people.  

2. That all regional governors be elected directly by the people or alternatively by the regional councillors through an internal democratic process, and that the elected governors should have budgetary powers to contribute directly to their broader regional socio-economic development programmes. 

This is to ensure that elected regional governors are accountable directly to the people of their regions and not to the president as is currently the case. That they are directly responsible for the development and oversight programmes of their respective regions which in my view, could fast-track socio-economic development or progress thereof under their jurisdictions.  

3. That the Municipality and Town Council chief executive officers (CEOs) be appointed directly by the councillors and not by the Minister of Urban and Rural Development. This is to ensure that non-performing CEOs after due observation and processes are easier removed or fired from their position as they could be the stumbling blocks impeding efficient implementation of council resolutions for the core delivery of essential services for the development and progress of their respective residents.   

4. That the extension of national election days of voting be at the discretion of the National Assembly, which if approved, should be signed off by a sitting elected President and should not be for more than one extra day of voting and should be as per the original fixed gazetted polling stations. This is to ensure that consensus is hence achieved through a collective democratic process rather than this power be in the hands of a single individual.  

5. That for national elections, eligible voters should also vote in the constituency they registered for ease of planning and executions of elections. This is to ensure that elections are conducted in a predicted and certain manner so that voting materials and personnel are allocated and coordinated based on available data or information as per the respected periodic voter registration outcome. 

6. That all public local procurement of more than N$20 million should have Namibian partner(s), that joint venture bank accounts should have a Namibian as a co-signatory and should receive no less than 30% profit sharing and those local procurement below N$20 million should have Namibians with a minimum of 50% shareholding.

7. That all medium to large sized companies operating in Namibia should have a mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility or Social Investment programme of not less 2.5% of their annual operating turnover, that it should be part of their income/expenditure statement. 

This is to ensure that all businesses operating in Namibia have corporate social responsibility programmes to that effect social progress in the communities they operate in. 

8. That all Chinese or foreign owned companies, regardless of their size operating in Namibia, should be officially registered for tax purposes and should always issue authentic receipts to customers.

9. That all foreign owned retail shops operating in Namibia should shelve at least a minimum of 20% of what can, as per acceptable international standards, be produced and manufactured in Namibia failure of which a set import tariffs, or tax regime/incentive be imposed on them. 

This is to spur industrialisation in key product areas Namibians can venture into and distribute through already well-established market platforms in the country. 

10.That with the above laws in place that Namibia completely delinks itself from the South African rand within a set agreed period of 10 years and as a critical foundation believes more in the strength of its people and its natural resources as a solid back-up to maintain and sustain all the above suggestions. 

*Pendapala Hangala believes in the potential of Namibians to achieve great things for themselves if given the chance. He writes in his personal capacity.