‘Construction bill must move beyond promises’

The Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIF) has called for concrete action on the long-awaited construction industries bill after works minister Veikko Nekundi announced the legislation is nearing submission to the Cabinet’s legislation committee. In a media release yesterday, CIF chief executive Bärbel Kirchner says the announcement has renewed hopes within the construction sector that a construction council could finally be established, more than a decade after the bill was first presented to parliament. “Nevertheless, previous unfulfilled promises warrant caution,” Kirchner says. According to her, an earlier bill reached the National Assembly under former works minister Erkki Nghimtina in 2010. “At the 2019 economic growth summit, the government promised that a construction council would be established by the end of the 2019/20 financial year.

Former prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila had also stated in parliament that a construction council would be established to support the local industry,” Kirchner says. She adds that further work on the legislation followed extensive consultations facilitated by then works deputy minister James Sankwasa. By 2022, a revised draft had reached the Cabinet and been discussed by its legislation committee under then minister John Mutorwa, with Nekundi serving as deputy minister, she says. “The CIF hopes the renewed momentum will now translate these promises into legislation and implementation,” she says. She adds that the CIF’s presentation at parliament in 2020 already proposed contractor registration and categorisation, matching project sizes to local capacity, smaller contracts and targeted training. “An effective council, working alongside procurement authorities, could have supported these measures years ago.…