Sun sets on winter time

Sun sets on winter timeBill seeks to repeal Namibian Time Act The authorities want the new bill to be endorsed by parliament before the first Sunday of April this year. An overwhelming majority of Namibians have elected to do away with the practice of having winter and summer time.

This will effectively result in the repeal of the Namibian Time Act of 1994, which stated that the country shall during the summer period be two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time and one hour in advance of GMT during winter.

Home affairs minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana yesterday in the National Assembly motivated the Namibian Time Bill, which will in all probability see the country having only one seasonal time.

According to the minister, Cabinet has resolved to have a standard time through all seasons of the year, adding that it was imperative that this proposed law took effect before the first Sunday of April 2017.

The home affairs ministry conducted public consultations for three months on the Namibian Time Act of 1994.

“I think it is important to highlight some of the views received. The considerations range from safety and security, especially for school-going children and workers who commence work early, energy saving, business activities, leisure opportunity and entertainment as well as the situation in Zambezi,” the minister said yesterday.

“No major stakeholder institutions were left out as the general public was also invited through the print media to make their views known.”

The minister announced that during consultations, 3 096 people wanted the government to stick to summer time as the standard time, while a meagre 304 wanted both summer and winter time.

If passed by parliament, the new law would bring about one standard time which is two hours in advance of the Greenwich Mean Time for the entire country, including the Zambezi Region that gets completely cut off when the country switches to winter time.

One of the main concerns highlighted is the safety of schoolchildren, especially those in rural and informal settlements who walk to and from school in the dark during the winter period.

“In light of the foregoing, a proposal was advanced that schools could start an hour later than the time they start now. On the other hand, others argued that both times should be maintained provided that winter time will be applicable for three months only (June, July and August) and that schools should have four terms instead of three terms and that May should be made a school holiday,” said Iivula-Ithana.

She added that those against the time change expressed concern about the many people relying on public transport and others who walk to and from their workplaces in the dark, which is unsafe for women in particular.

Business owners argued that Namibia loses four business hours daily because it operates outside “normal business hours” while its main trading partner South Africa has a different time.

Many Namibians who make use of public transport to and from work have also said that during winter it gets dark very early, making them vulnerable to robbery and other crimes while walking home.

Commuters also expressed concern about night driving during the winter months.



Zambezi factor

“The Zambezi Region does not change time. This makes it difficult to communicate and coordinate daily work with staff members in that region during time change,” the minister added.

The original debate in the National Assembly was started by former DTA Member of Parliament Anna Frank in 1992.

She was concerned about children having to walk to school in the dark during the winter months, making them vulnerable to robbery and assault.

In 1993, the late Nangolo Ithete, who then served as deputy home affairs minister, said that in the past Namibia had been forced to use the same time zone as South Africa.



JEMIMA BEUKES