Independent Patriots for Change parliamentarian Michael Mwashindange has expressed concern over import duties imposed on residents of Impalila Island in the Zambezi region.
He says these people are forced to buy goods at the Botswana border due to the high cost of goods at Katima Mulilo.
Mwashindange made the remark while posing an oral question to finance minister Ericah Shafudah in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“These people, some of whom are elders, are forced to buy goods alongside the borders of Botswana because if they go to Katima Mulilo, the goods cost about N$300. Why are they subjected to paying import duties on goods given their geographical location?” Mwashindange asked.
He said despite the Import and Export Control Act 30 of 1994 stipulating levies on all imported goods, the government should exempt them due to their geographical location.
In response, Shafudah said there is nothing she can do because the law requires levies on all imported goods.
“The law does not discriminate whether old or not. Anyone who purchases imported goods will have to pay the levy,” she explained.
She said the only way to amend this is to change the law.
Impalila is situated in the Kabbe South constituency of the Zambezi region, on Namibia’s far eastern tip.
