NC resumes after six-month break

AFTER a lengthy break of about six months, the National Council (NC) resumed business on Monday.

The National Assembly has referred two bills to the NC for review during this session. These are the Financial Intelligence Bill and the Local Authorities Fire Brigade Services Bill.The Financial Intelligence Bill, tabled by the Ministry of Finance, seeks to establish an Anti-Money-Laundering Council, while the Local Authorities Fire Brigade Services Bill seeks to compel all local authorities to provide fire brigade services to their residents.Making a contribution to the debate on the Local Authorities Fire Brigades Services Bill yesterday morning, Swapo MP Henock ya Kasita said local authorities should allocate firefighters to serve different parts of towns.This, he said, would enable fire brigades to respond more promptly to fires.He said in many cases firefighters arrived too late to save people’s houses.Ya Kasita suggested that the City of Windhoek should allocate two or three fire-brigade units to suburbs such as Katutura, where a number of fires have been reported lately.He feels Regional Councils should have been included in the bill, as local authorities cannot assist nearby farmers in the event of veld fires.Swapo’s Henock Kankoshi said Government should not be too hard on smaller towns that were struggling financially and might not be able to establish fire brigades.”You cannot compare Swakopmund with Eenhana town,” said Kankoshi.These are the Financial Intelligence Bill and the Local Authorities Fire Brigade Services Bill.The Financial Intelligence Bill, tabled by the Ministry of Finance, seeks to establish an Anti-Money-Laundering Council, while the Local Authorities Fire Brigade Services Bill seeks to compel all local authorities to provide fire brigade services to their residents.Making a contribution to the debate on the Local Authorities Fire Brigades Services Bill yesterday morning, Swapo MP Henock ya Kasita said local authorities should allocate firefighters to serve different parts of towns.This, he said, would enable fire brigades to respond more promptly to fires.He said in many cases firefighters arrived too late to save people’s houses.Ya Kasita suggested that the City of Windhoek should allocate two or three fire-brigade units to suburbs such as Katutura, where a number of fires have been reported lately.He feels Regional Councils should have been included in the bill, as local authorities cannot assist nearby farmers in the event of veld fires.Swapo’s Henock Kankoshi said Government should not be too hard on smaller towns that were struggling financially and might not be able to establish fire brigades.”You cannot compare Swakopmund with Eenhana town,” said Kankoshi.