In the absence of the implementation of the Rent Control Bill, Namibians continue to experience exorbitant rental prices, as the responsible Ministry of Urban and Rural development remains mum on it.
If enacted into law, the Bill will allow for the implementation of the Rent Control Board measures which were established in accordance with section 2 (2) and 3 (1) of the Rent Control Ordinance of 1997 in November 2018 by the then Minister of Trade and Industrialisation, Tjekero Tweya.
In September 2021 urban and rural development minister, Erastus Uutoni, told this agency that the Bill was with the Attorney General’s (AG) office for scrutiny and finalisation before it is tabled in Parliament.
However, Attorney General Festus Mbandeka in a recent interview with Nampa disputed Uutoni’s claims, saying his office advised the government on what to do as far as the implementation of the Bill, already in 2016 when the office was occupied by former Attorney Generals Sacky Shangala and Albert Kawana respectively.
“The office of the Attorney General, while under the leadership of my two predecessors, provided legal advice on the Rent Control Bill with the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade and subsequently, the Ministry of Rural and Urban Development. Also, our last correspondence consultation with the rural and urban ministry on the matter took place in August 2021 in which the AG advised on (inter alia) the status of the legal advice on the bill and the process and structures to be followed by the ministry going forward to which the bill should be presented.
Though the HarambeeProsperity Plan (HPP) Quarter 1 report handed over to President Hage Geingob on 03 August 2021 indicates that the Rent Control Bill should be submitted before Parliament for debate and promulgation by December 2021 to guarantee the implementation of the Rent Control Board measures, Uutoni on Thursday without indicating exactly when the Bill will see Parliament said the ministry is at an advance stage regarding the Bill.
“We are at an advanced stage with it,” he said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Affirmative Reposition (AR) movement Spokesperson, Simon Amunime told this agency on Thursday that AR filed for litigation against the ministry, noting that strategic engagements have failed.
“We have written letters without responses, so we have ceased the engagements with the ministry. We decided to take the legal direction to just go fight them in court because of course strategic engagement has failed.
Amunime indicated that the politicians are delaying the tabling of the Bill deliberately as the majority of them own rental places in the country.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
