The Green Building Council is preparing a submission to the National Standards Institute for a green building code as part of a minimum set of requirement for the design and construction of buildings. Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Ministry of Works and Transport, Festus Mukete and a member of the Green Building Council said this week that the national building codes are typically the foundation of state and local building codes. "As such, state and local building codes shall also be followed to the maximum extent practicable." Mukete explained that this means that the new building codes will help the government in achieving development goals that have been set, such as the National Development Plans (NDP), Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

It also enforces environmental protocols such as the Paris Agreement on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. "The benefits of building codes are to provide minimum standards for safety, health, and general welfare including structural integrity, mechanical integrity of buildings that includes sanitation, water supply, light, and ventilation and energy conservation among others" said Mukete. "It is about a well-regulated build environment, and for which building inspectors, designers, contractors, commissioners, renovators, and maintenance teams have a framework to operate" he said adding that this will help prepare the general requirements for conformity of buildings that take the environment into consideration. Workshops have been organised by the Namibia Standards Institute involving various stakeholders for adoption of a green building code. "However major policy makers from other big players are normally absent namely the Ministries of Works and Transport, Urban and Rural Development.

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