Minister mum on Rent Control Bill

LINEA DISHENAWINDHOEKIn the absence of a rent control law, Namibians continue to pay high rent while the ministry of urban and rural development remains mum on when a bill will be tabled.If enacted, the Rent Control Bill will provide for the implementation of a Rent Control Board in accordance with the Rent Control Ordinance of 1997.In September 2021, urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni told this agency that the bill was with the attorney-general’s 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 had advised the government on the bill as far back as 2016 when the office was occupied by former attorneys-general Sacky Shangala and Albert Kawana.“The office of the attorney-general, while under the leadership of my two predecessors, provided legal advice on the Rent Control Bill to 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,” he said.The Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP) Quarter 1 report handed over to President Hage Geingob on 3 August 2021 indicated that the Rent Control Bill should be tabled in Parliament for debate and promulgation by December 2021.Uutoni said on Thursday that the bill was at an advanced stage, but did not indicate when it will be tabled.AR suesMeanwhile, Affirmative Reposition (AR) movement spokesperson Simon Amunime told this agency on Thursday that AR had 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,” he said.Amunime claimed that politicians are delaying the tabling of the bill deliberately becaise the majority of them own rental properties. - Nampa

Minister mum on Rent Control Bill

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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Minister mum on Rent Control Bill

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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