Parliament in brief

MORE LAND FOR THE /KHOMANIN

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi says the communal land allocated to the /Khomanin community should not be less than 30 000ha.

Swartbooi said this in parliament last Wednesday, while pledging his support for the government’s decision to allocate communal land to the Khomanin community in the Khomas region.

According to Swartbooi, the region has a lot of mountains which does not constitute farming land.

“People who farm in the Khomas region know how hard it is to extract water from the mountains. These people need to make a living,” he said.

Swartbooi further advised the government to ensure infrastructure is in place for the community.

LLB GRADUATES

Minister of justice Yvonne Dausab says the green hydrogen, oil and gas sectors would present law graduates with many opportunities.

Dausab said this on Thursday in the parliament while responding to questions raised by Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) Maximalliant Katjimune.

Katjimune asked whether the market could sustain the high number of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) graduates entering the legal profession every year.

“Competition and environmental law opportunities are opening up and within our markets. There is much room for specialisation.

“This provides potential for many LLB graduates and can thus ease the burden on Namibia having to import legal skills and expertise from neighbouring countries” Dausab said.

She said opportunities should therefore be created for LLB graduates to specialise in relevant fields where there is a scarcity of expertise in Namibia.

This would help Namibia become an industrialised nation as per Vision 2030, she said.

Dausab said the ministry would continuously explore avenues to address the plight of unemployed graduates.

MARRIAGE BILL INTRODUCTION

Minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Albert Kawana has tabled an amendment bill to replace the current Marriage Act 25 of 1961.

The bill clearly stipulates that spouses may only be from the opposite sex.

This will make same-sex marriages in Namibia illegal, including those legally concluded in a foreign country.

This directly opposes the Supreme Court judgement last year that ruled the marriages of two same-sex couples who got married in South Africa and Germany, respectively, must be recognised in Namibia and that the non-Namibian partner in each marriage is recognised as the spouse of their Namibian partner under the country’s Immigration Control Act.

Kawana tabled the bill in the National Assembly last week.

The bill reads: “’Spouse’ means a person, whether male or female, who is married to a person of the opposite sex and includes such person who is a party to a foreign marriage.”

Lawmaker Elma Dienda wants the bill to add that under Section 32 on good faith marriages, the government should add a mandatory two-year relationship before a valid marriage between a Namibian and “a foreigner” can take place.

“To reduce incidents of marriages of convenience. A two-year demonstrated relationship period will show genuine intent and commitment,” she argued.

She further suggested that the following section dealing with requirements of these unions should have a provision that foreigners can only be married according to Namibian law.

“This ensures that the legal standards and cultural values of Namibia are upheld,” Dienda said.

BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Also last week Tuesday, the deputy minister of industrialisation and trade, Verna Sinimbo, addressed the National Assembly on beneficial ownership as part of the business registration implemented by the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa).

Sinimbo said there are 221 338 legal entities registered.

Out of these, 64 356 have submitted their beneficial ownership information.

“. . . which accounts for less than 30% compliance rate as at 30 June 2024,” she said.

DIVORCE BILL CONTRIBUTIONS

PDM chief whip Elma Dienda wants the divorce bill to include the approval of churches when marriages end.

“Why is the opinion of the church not included? Before marriage there is compulsory premarital counselling.”

Dienda was contributing to the debate on the divorce bill in the National Assembly last week.

She further questioned Dausab on whether consultations on the divorce bill included various religions, as traditions differ.

She called for the divorce bill to be subject to the new marriage bill, which stipulates that marriage is between people of the opposite sex.

Dienda’s fellow lawmaker, Winnie Moongo, wants the bill to include mandatory psychodynamic therapy to provide the divorcees with the tools they need to process their experiences and emotions.

She attributes it to the prevention of post-divorce depression.

“This requirement would ensure that past traumatic experiences are adequately addressed, reducing the likelihood of subsequent divorces,” she said.