Thread: Information and Telecoms Bill ever coming out

Problems with lawmaking
The time it takes to get a bill through our governments and then parliamentary system is too long. Let’s take a look at the Information and Telecommunications Bill.

The first consultative process started in 1999 with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication (MWTC), and the Namibian Communications Commission (NCC). MIB was the line Ministry for Radio and television, MWTC was responsible for Telecommunications and NCC is the regulating authority.

The Bill was discussed in various public forum and the private sector and business organisations were invited to comment. The state-owned enterprises that were regulated by the old Act(s) were however not happy with the proposed changes, and specifically the allowing of competition. This held the Bill up for over 7 years.

The Ministry of Information again called a consultative meeting in 2006 to complete the process and have a document for submission to Parliament. After the submission by the stakeholders the Bill was once again distributed for comment. By July 2007, the Cabinet of Namibia instructed the Ministry of Justice to complete the Bill and “submit it to Parliament by 12 September 2007."

In the early part of 2008, the Communications Department was moved to the renamed Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies. This meant that all the various parties’ interests were now housed in one Ministry. The newly appointed Minister promised the Bill would be tabled within the year.

Right now, the Bill is yet to be submitted to Parliament. (If it is submitted within this year, one of the things that can possible delay its enactment is that the bill can be sent to a Committee for deliberations.)

Thus ten years have passed without this crucial legislation which regulates broadcasting, telecommunications and postal services.