Drug bill hearing just a puff of smoke?

A THREE-DAY public hearing into the Combating of the Abuse of Drugs Bill ended yesterday with members of the public sceptical over whether their contributions will make any difference to the final bill when it is eventually passed.

The revelation that the National Council (NC) Standing Committee, which presided over the hearing, will not have the final say on the bill seemed to dishearten especially Rastafarians, who since Monday have followed the hearings attentively. They have also used the opportunity to lobby for the decriminalisation of dagga.”What was the purpose of us coming here? How can we directly access the National Assembly?” Setson Ulahengo asked panel members after being informed of the procedures to be followed in the bill’s journey to become law.When the NC resumes on Tuesday, a report compiled by the committee – incorporating the public’s views and recommendations from the committee regarding proposed amendments to the bill – will be tabled in those chambers.From there, the NC is expected to deliberate on the report and the bill will then, with or without amendments, be referred back to the National Assembly (NA), which last year passed the bill without much debate.”I caution you though that the National Assembly is not at all obliged to accept any changes proposed by the National Council,” Committee Vice Chairperson Henock Kangoshi informed the public.These words were enough to cast a dampener on the optimism in the packed hall of the National Council building.”You now understand what we’re talking about, but they won’t,” Ulahengo said.Others pleaded with the committee to at least make sure that National Assembly members were briefed on the public’s views verbally as well as in written form.Their only consolation, however, came from Chairperson Jhonny Hakaye at the end of proceedings.He urged them to attend the NC sitting on Wednesday, where the committee will read its report to the rest of the council.”Don’t consider this a waste of time, otherwise being an NC member is as much a waste of time.The National Assembly in the past has accepted recommendations we make,” Hakaye said.Yesterday’s hearing saw less public participation than the two previous days, mainly due to the panel’s request that contributors not repeat remarks made previously by others.This left many Rastafarians in attendance silent yet eager to speak in favour of their holy weed.One contribution accepted though came from the Dean of the University of Namibia’s Law Faculty, professor Samuel Kwesi Amoo.Amoo agreed with the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and the Magistrate’s Commission, both of which made presentations to the committee previously, that lawmakers should do away with the minimum sentences stipulated in the proposed act.He proposed that they rather leave sentences to the discretion of judges, adding that Parliament could rather stipulate maximum sentences, which would allow for broader interpretation by judges.He also disagreed with the bill’s prescribing the same sentence regardless of the quantity and type of drug a suspect was caught with.”You need to differentiate between what is organised crime and what can be considered anti-social behaviour by citizens,” he said.”Mind you, I’m not advocating for the legalisation of cannabis, but it’s not fair to give 20 years both to a person who smokes this much [showing a pinch with his fingers], and to someone who traffics large amounts for commercial purposes.The problem, however, is how do you as lawmakers handle this? The main thing would be not to remove the ability of the judges to use their own discretion,” he said.Another contribution came from Windhoek resident Byron Joseph, who said that increasing the sentences for those caught with dagga could in fact be more beneficial for dealers.”The going street rate for a ballie [the smallest amount of dagga sold] is currently N$5.If you increase sentencing, pricing will inevitably go up as the risk increases, leading to a situation where Government is increasing business for criminals.”I would even move to decriminalise cannabis.That way you can regulate it by perhaps issuing licences to people who are allowed to use it, like Rastafarians and those who use it for medical purposes, and you can take care of those discovered to be abusing it,” Joseph said.Media practitioner Natasha Tibinyane said she was disappointed that traditional healers had not been consulted to discuss their experiences with herbal medicine such as dagga.”I spoke to one who said she feared coming here on her own, as she was afraid of what might happen to her,” she said.Tibinyane also said she had received information that the United States of America had helped the Ministry of Safety to draft the current bill.”America is failing in its fight against drugs.Obviously they won’t admit they’re failing, but even some of their police officers have come out and said that they feel they’re destroying the lives of the people they caught.If we’re going to implement this law, we’re set for the same failure,” she said.They have also used the opportunity to lobby for the decriminalisation of dagga. “What was the purpose of us coming here? How can we directly access the National Assembly?” Setson Ulahengo asked panel members after being informed of the procedures to be followed in the bill’s journey to become law. When the NC resumes on Tuesday, a report compiled by the committee – incorporating the public’s views and recommendations from the committee regarding proposed amendments to the bill – will be tabled in those chambers.From there, the NC is expected to deliberate on the report and the bill will then, with or without amendments, be referred back to the National Assembly (NA), which last year passed the bill without much debate.”I caution you though that the National Assembly is not at all obliged to accept any changes proposed by the National Council,” Committee Vice Chairperson Henock Kangoshi informed the public.These words were enough to cast a dampener on the optimism in the packed hall of the National Council building.”You now understand what we’re talking about, but they won’t,” Ulahengo said.Others pleaded with the committee to at least make sure that National Assembly members were briefed on the public’s views verbally as well as in written form.Their only consolation, however, came from Chairperson Jhonny Hakaye at the end of proceedings.He urged them to attend the NC sitting on Wednesday, where the committee will read its report to the rest of the council.”Don’t consider this a waste of time, otherwise being an NC member is as much a waste of time.The National Assembly in the past has accepted recommendations we make,” Hakaye said.Yesterday’s hearing saw less public participation than the two previous days, mainly due to the panel’s request that contributors not repeat remarks made previously by others.This left many Rastafarians in attendance silent yet eager to speak in favour of their holy weed.One contribution accepted though came from the Dean of the University of Namibia’s Law Faculty, professor Samuel Kwesi Amoo.Amoo agreed with the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and the Magistrate’s Commission, both of which made presentations to the committee previously, that lawmakers should do away with the minimum sentences stipulated in the proposed act.He proposed that they rather leave sentences to the discretion of judges, adding that Parliament could rather stipulate maximum sentences, which would allow for broader interpretation by judges.He also disagreed with the bill’s prescribing the same sentence regardless of the quantity and type of drug a suspect was caught with.”You need to differentiate between what is organised crime and what can be considered anti-social behaviour by citizens,” he said.”Mind you, I’m not advocating for the legalisation of cannabis, but it’s not fair to give 20 years both to a person who smokes this much [showing a pinch with his fingers], and to someone who traffics large amounts for commercial purposes.The problem, however, is how do you as lawmakers handle this? The main thing would be not to remove th
e ability of the judges to use their own discretion,” he said.Another contribution came from Windhoek resident Byron Joseph, who said that increasing the sentences for those caught with dagga could in fact be more beneficial for dealers.”The going street rate for a ballie [the smallest amount of dagga sold] is currently N$5.If you increase sentencing, pricing will inevitably go up as the risk increases, leading to a situation where Government is increasing business for criminals.”I would even move to decriminalise cannabis.That way you can regulate it by perhaps issuing licences to people who are allowed to use it, like Rastafarians and those who use it for medical purposes, and you can take care of those discovered to be abusing it,” Joseph said.Media practitioner Natasha Tibinyane said she was disappointed that traditional healers had not been consulted to discuss their experiences with herbal medicine such as dagga.”I spoke to one who said she feared coming here on her own, as she was afraid of what might happen to her,” she said.Tibinyane also said she had received information that the United States of America had helped the Ministry of Safety to draft the current bill.”America is failing in its fight against drugs.Obviously they won’t admit they’re failing, but even some of their police officers have come out and said that they feel they’re destroying the lives of the people they caught.If we’re going to implement this law, we’re set for the same failure,” she said.