President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has called on lawmakers to speed up the passage of several critical bills still awaiting debate in Parliament.

She noted that significant progress had been made in recent months, with Parliament finalising and passing several key pieces of legislation. These include the Vehicle Mass Act, the Dissolution of Marriages Act, the Property Practitioners Act, the Civil Registration and Identification Act, the Health Professionals Act, the Marriage Act, and the Regulation of Status of Certain Residents of Namibia, Their Descendants and Foreign Spouses Act.

Reaffirming her administration’s commitment to good governance and sustainable development, President Nandi-Ndaitwah urged Parliament to finalise outstanding bills during the current sitting. These include the Insolvency Bill, the Regional Councils Amendment Bill, the Local Authorities Amendment Bill, the Constituency Development Fund Bill, the Land Bill, the Public Finance Management Bill, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Facilitation Bill, the Statelessness Determination and Protection Bill, the Namibian Citizenship Amendment Bill, the Namibia Refugees Amendment Bill, and the Legal Aid Amendment Bill.

Highlighting environmental protection as a constitutional priority, the president welcomed the opening of Namibia’s first Environmental Crimes Court in Otjiwarongo. The specialised court will handle offences related to wildlife and plant protection.

On the economy, she reported progress in public procurement reforms. The Code of Good Practice, which promotes local content, is now in effect, and the Electronic Government Procurement Portal has been launched to improve transparency and data management in the procurement process.