Neeef still alive – PM
Despite reserving N$700 000 for the implementation of the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework (Neeef) Bill in 2018, failure to do so does not mean that the bill is dead, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has said.
She made these comments in a recent interview Nampa, in which she explained why the Neeef Bill could not be tabled in the National Assembly (NA) in 2018 as planned.
The NA concluded its business for 2018 last month, having passed 20 bills this year. The Neeef Bill was not one of them.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila indicated that the delay in the tabling was because they had to accommodate conflicting views.
“When you have an issue that is difficult, where you have different views, it is important to take everyone along. And when you do that, sometimes there are costs that you have to bear and in this particular case, the cost that we are incurring is the cost of timeliness.”
According to her, it is better for the government to take more time and have everyone on board.
Consultations on the bill were finalised and a report was submitted to cabinet for approval and input.
“(But) when the report came to cabinet, there was some more input and cabinet decided that a technical committee look at it again,” the PM said.
The former treasury boss promised that the revamped Neeef Bill would be tabled in the NA next year.
“It (Neeef) is still alive. Definitely, there is no going back. As I have indicated, it's a matter of details.”
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said Neeef in essence seeks to ensure that Namibia's resources are shared equitably and in a sustainable fashion.
“Nobody should think that we are going to take away their things,” she said. The government has been accused of bowing to external pressure when it removed the 25% equity clause in the bill.
Rally for Democracy and Progress secretary-general Mike Kavekotora earlier this year said Neeef had collapsed, and what was left was a mockery of the original plan.
Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani said Neeef was meaningless without the 25% clause, while Swanu's Usutuaije Maamberua also said the government did not have the guts to implement the Neeef Bill.
NAMPA
She made these comments in a recent interview Nampa, in which she explained why the Neeef Bill could not be tabled in the National Assembly (NA) in 2018 as planned.
The NA concluded its business for 2018 last month, having passed 20 bills this year. The Neeef Bill was not one of them.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila indicated that the delay in the tabling was because they had to accommodate conflicting views.
“When you have an issue that is difficult, where you have different views, it is important to take everyone along. And when you do that, sometimes there are costs that you have to bear and in this particular case, the cost that we are incurring is the cost of timeliness.”
According to her, it is better for the government to take more time and have everyone on board.
Consultations on the bill were finalised and a report was submitted to cabinet for approval and input.
“(But) when the report came to cabinet, there was some more input and cabinet decided that a technical committee look at it again,” the PM said.
The former treasury boss promised that the revamped Neeef Bill would be tabled in the NA next year.
“It (Neeef) is still alive. Definitely, there is no going back. As I have indicated, it's a matter of details.”
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said Neeef in essence seeks to ensure that Namibia's resources are shared equitably and in a sustainable fashion.
“Nobody should think that we are going to take away their things,” she said. The government has been accused of bowing to external pressure when it removed the 25% equity clause in the bill.
Rally for Democracy and Progress secretary-general Mike Kavekotora earlier this year said Neeef had collapsed, and what was left was a mockery of the original plan.
Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani said Neeef was meaningless without the 25% clause, while Swanu's Usutuaije Maamberua also said the government did not have the guts to implement the Neeef Bill.
NAMPA
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