JANUARY IS ALWAYS a good time to reflect on the past year. What laws were passed by Namibia's parliament in 2022? Here is an overview:
The parliament passed 16 statutes in last year, with only three of these introducing new laws. The remainder were amendments or repeals of existing laws.
APPROPRIATIONS
Every year, the parliament passes an 'Appropriation Act' to implement the national budget. Budget allocations are often adjusted by amending this act as the year proceeds, and last year was no exception.
The Appropriation Act 2 of 2022 was amended in December by the Appropriation Amendment Act 7 of 2022.
NEW LAWS
Three brand new laws were passed in 2022, none of which has been brought into force yet.
The Metrology Act 5 of 2022 will replace a pre-independence law of the same name.
'Metrology' refers to the scientific study of measurement. This law governs legal units of measurements and national measurement standards.
The Access to Information Act 8 of 2022 is a long-anticipated law that provides for a right to public access to information held by public entities, as well as information from private entities that may assist in the exercise or protection of any fundamental human right or freedom. This law, once implemented, could be of great assistance in promoting transparency and accountability.
The Abolition of Payment by Cheque Act 16 of 2022 will do just what its title says.
AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAWS
The main topics of the amendments to existing laws concern financial issues and some refinements of existing laws on gender-based violence.
The State Finance Amendment Act 1 of 2022 made some technical amendments to the underlying State Finance Act.
The Public Procurement Amendment Act 3 of 2022 improves the governance structure in the underlying law by providing for a chief executive officer who is not a member of the Central Procurement Board, and by strengthening the rules aimed at preventing conflicts of interest.
The Combating of Rape Amendment Act 4 of 2022 broadens the list of coercive circumstances in respect of rape to cover the abuse of power or authority.
It also increases several minimum sentences, particularly in the case of rapes of people with disabilities.
The Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Act 6 of 2022 broadens the definition of "domestic relationship" to include the relationship between children (or people with illnesses or disabilities) and their primary caretakers.
It also strengthens monitoring provisions to check for intimidation if an applicant does not return to court after getting an interim protection order, and applies the special arrangements available for vulnerable witnesses in criminal cases to protection order proceedings.
It also authorises courts to refer perpetrators of domestic violence to counselling or treatment programmes.
Sadly, the proposal to amend the law to allow couples in same-sex relationships to access its protections did not make it to the parliament.
Neither of these amending acts on gender-based violence have been brought into force as yet.
Moving back to our survey of 2022 legislation, the Administration of Estates Amendment Act 9 of 2022 repeals the controversial section of the underlying law which has since December 2018 required the payment of certain funds due to minors and people under curatorship into the guardian's fund, even in cases where there was a will naming an executor.
That requirement is now gone.
The Road Fund Administration Amendment Act 11 of 2022, which has not yet been brought into force, makes provision for exemption from payment of cross-border entry fees in certain circumstances, such as cross-border movements by the military and the police.
Technical changes to existing laws on revenue were made by the Stamp Duties Amendment Act 10 of 2022, the Income Tax Amendment Act 13 of 2022 and the Value-Added Tax Amendment Act 14 of 2022.
The Income Tax Amendment Act 13 of 2022, among other things, rather belatedly amends the underlying law to provide for electronic tax returns and notices of tax assessments.
The most interesting aspect of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Amendment Act 14 of 2022 is that it exempts sanitary pads from VAT.
This is an important step forward on gender rights, but needs to be taken further.
Both the Income Tax Amendment Act 13 of 2022 and the Value-Added Tax Amendment Act 14 of 2022 amend the underlying laws to provide that any payments under those laws are applied first to the tax that is owing, then to the interest on the outstanding amount, and only then to any penalty for non-payment.
The Property Valuers Profession Amendment Act 15 of 2022 amends the Property Valuers Act 7 of 2012, which has not yet come into force.
The latest amendments provide for increased fines for improper conduct by registered property valuers, among other things.
The aim of the underlying law is to regulate property valuation to help prevent over-valuations that contribute to inflated land prices or under-valuations that deprive the government of appropriate amounts of property-based revenue.
REPEAL OF OLD LAWS
The Repeal of Obsolete Laws Act 12 of 2022, which has not yet been brought into force, will repeal 20 statutes together with their amendments.
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Some of these laws were race-based, and others were designed to support colonial control.
WHAT IS MISSING?
A few laws were notably absent. New laws on marriage, divorce and marital property, long-awaited by the public, did not make it to the parliament last year.
This means marital property is still governed by race-based laws, almost 33 years after independence, while divorce still takes place under an antiquated system that considers one spouse to be guilty and the other one innocent - even though that is not the way relationships work in the real world.
Another notable absence was the new law on civil registration, which will set up a new system for records of birth, death, marriage, divorce and other civil events.
Cybercrime did not make it to the parliament in 2022 either.
Movement on environmental laws, such as proposed legislation on wildlife management and water, was also lacking.
Controversial issues such as reproductive rights and equality for same-sex couples are not even in the starting blocks for legislative change as yet.
May 2023 be not just a year of revival, but also a year of increased momentum for making Namibia's laws responsive to the needs of the people.
