Minister of Finance Calle Schlettwein has taken offence after DTA MP Nico Smit accused him of deliberately delaying the tabling of the Export Levy Bill and requesting that it be passed before the House goes into recess yesterday.
Smit told Schlettwein that it remains their duty as lawmakers to thoroughly read any laws before they are passed because as lawmakers, they must be accountable to the people and to the Namibian constitution.
“It is not the first time, and it has now become common practice for bills to be pushed under our nose at the last minute and this is how mistakes and provisions without the intended consequences slip through the cracks,” Smit lashed out.
According to him, it amounts to negligence on their constitutional duties as legislators and as members of parliament.
“It is disingenuous to not only ourselves as legislators, but also to the Namibian people who have entrusted us to make laws for them, to constantly pass bills merely for purposes of expediency without having done our due diligence and having consulted the relevant stakeholders, business and experts who not only have intimate knowledge pertaining to this field, but more critically, who will be directly affected by the proposed laws,” he said.
Schlettwein however said Smit’s accusations are strong and devoid of any truth.
According to him, a comprehensive report on his issue was put out in the public domain already in 2010 by his predecessor Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.
Meanwhile, according to the finance minister, the levy will come into effect on a date to be determined by a notice in the Government Gazette.
He added that the bill will provide for the imposition of an export levy on certain goods, so as to improve Namibia’s value share in its resource base, to encourage further processing or beneficiation of, or value addition to such goods, to support national or regional industrial development; to promote the development of regional value chains and to meet revenue needs; and to provide for incidental matters.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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