Windhoek moves to scrap outdated laws

Justice Minister Sacky Shanghala has tabled a Bill in the National Assembly to scrap 144 discriminatory and outdated legislative pieces from the Namibian law books. The Bill which is at the committee stage, states that the laws have been overtaken by more relevant legislation. The draft Bill seen by The Namibian shows that the majority of the statutes identified for repeal include Acts, ordinances and proclamations stemming from the pre-independence era from 1915 to 1992. They include the Vagrancy Proclamation of 1920, the Native Reserves Fencing Proclamation, the Industrial Development Act of 1940, and the Fugitive Offenders and Neighbouring Territories Evidence Proclamation of 1920. Shanghala noted that the laws were aimed at managing ‘native affairs’. ‘This situation is contradictory to the rule of law in principle,’ he said, adding that the laws were identified after the Law Reform Development Commission reviewed ‘the entire body of 557 laws in force in Namibia’ for reform.