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MOTIVATION SPEECH BY HONOURABLE ERKKI NIGHMTINA,MINISTER OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT ON THE ARCHITECTSAND QUANTITY SURVEYORS PROFESSIONALS BILL 2010Honourable SpeakerHonourable Members of the National AssemblyAllow me to motivate the Architects and Quantity Surveying Professional Bill o2010 to this August House.After twenty years of independence, Namibia is still using the Architects' andQuantity Surveyors' Act that is not inclusive of all different categories oArchitectural and Quantity Surveying professions. This situation is negativelyimpacting the progress and advancement in the field of Architecture and QuantitySurveying in Namibia. It is the wish of the Government to see equitable promotionof the Architectural and Quantity Surveying Profession for the benefit of theconcerned sectors in Namibia. In order to achieve this, it is clear that the GoverningLaws must conform to the settings of the profession, and that the Laws should bealigned from time to time to enable us to effectively respond to the changingenvironment of the profession.To minimize the harm that the old Law may cause to the Architects and Surveyorsprofession, my Ministry has recognized the need to repeal the existing outdated Lawand replace it with a more friendly and unprejudiced Law. The primary purpose torepeal the old Act would be to make it possible to establish the Boards of Controland create a viable platform for the recognition and professional registration of alArchitectural and Quantity Surveying Professionals in Namibia.Honourable SpeakerHonourable MembersThe current Act was amended in 1992, but it remains as an inheritance product ofthe colonial past. The Architects and Quantity Surveyor Act, 1979 (Act No. 13 of1979) as amended in 1992, (Act No. 11 of 1992) makes provision for theestablishment of the Namibian Council for Architects and Quantity Surveyors.However, the amendment Act does not go far enough to address the inherentdeficiencies of the original Act. This includes that fact that the Act does not cater forall different categories of Architectural and Quantity Surveying Professionals.Limitations such as this, if left unattended, will cripple the Governments efforts tocreate a leveled playing field in spheres of economic liberty aimed to benefit theNamibian people.

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Further, solution-based structures needs to be put in place for enabling the Councilto register professionals in respective categories and allow them to establish theirown controlling bodies (Boards of Control) within the parameters of the proposednew Law. To this end, the Namibia Council for Architectural and QuantitySurveying Professions and its rules and regulations will therefore be able to reachthis objective.In essence, such a change in the Law will establish the new part (part 5) forintroducing the Boards of Control and inclusive of the recognition of professionalregistration for all Architectural and Quantity Surveying professionals by way of:-1. Providing the rules and regulations for the inclusion and establishment of Boards

of Control for:a. Landscape Architectsb. Interior Decoratorsc. Architectural Techniciansd. Architectural Technologistse. Quantity Surveying Technicians

2. Making provision for any other profession in the course of which the workperformed is allied to, or related to any kind of Architectural and QuantitySurveying Work;

3. Defining the rules and regulations of each Board of Control in the Council byone main member and one alternative member;

4. Allowing for representation of each Board of Control in the Council by one mainmember and one alternative member;

5. Defining the kind of work reserved for each Architectural and QuantitySurveying Profession;

6. Defining the Fees chargeable by each Architectural and Quantity SurveyingProfession;

7. Changing the name of the Council from Namibia Council for Architects andQuantity Surveyors to Namibia Council for Architectural and Quantity SurveyingProfessions;

8. Removing the compulsory registration by Namibia Institute of Architects as aprerequisite for the application for registration by the Council and therefore

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defining the Namibian Institute of Architects as one of the Boards of Controlwith Voluntary Membership;

9. Defining the powers of each Board of Control to supervise the membership andenhancing the profession.

Honourable SpeakerHonourable MembersThe existing Law does not make provision for the disciplines mentioned in Part 5,(Section 41) of the new Bill, which justifies the need to change name and make it allinclusive of all related professions. In the past, only professional Architects andQuantity Surveyors benefitted from the allocation of work. If the new Bill isapproved, it will include all the other professionals mentioned in Part 5 Section 41 ofthe new Bill.During the intensive work that resulted in reaching the agreement on the above-mentioned concepts, various consultations took place between the Ministry ofWorks and Transport and the Namibian Council for Architects and QuantitySurveyors. After consultations, the Draft Bill was forwarded to Cabinet Committeeon Legislation, which eventually approved the principle of the new Bill. ThereafterCabinet granted approval for the Bill to be tabled in Parliament for approval andenactment.In conclusion, Honourable Members, there is an urgent need to harmonize the Lawsgoverning the Architects and Quantity Surveyors profession. For the purpose ofrectifying the shortcomings that hindered the progress of the profession for toolong, I would like to appeal for your undivided support to pass this Bill forenactment in order to implement the provisions as enumerated above.I further request for your support for the existing Quantity Surveyors Act, 1979 (actNo. 13 of 1979), and the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Amendment Act, 1992(Act No. 11 of 1992) to be repealed to pave a new dawn for the new Law which willbe called in short: Architectural and Quantity Surveying Professionals Act, 2010".I am convinced that this new law will make a significant contribution towards greatersustainable utilization of talents in the different categories of Architectural andQuantity Surveying Professions.I thank you for your attention.