Staff Reporter
THE High Court of Namibia dismissed an appeal by the government that aimed to challenge a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, which favoured the Namibia Employers Federation (NEF) by ordering parts of the Covid-19 State of Emergency regulations unconstitutional.
This comes after the government issued two proclamations and Covid-19 State of Emergency regulations in April and May of 2020 that aimed to prohibit the retrenchment of workers and the reduction of pay, among other regulations.
NEF and other organisations representing Namibian employers questioned the constitutionality of these regulations, claiming that businesses would be at risk of bankruptcy if these regulations are to be allowed. Their argument was sustained in the Supreme Court in June 2020, which led to the government approaching the High Court to appeal the judgement.
“In keeping with the tripartite alliance spirit and yet with a view to an amicable resolve of the issue, the NEF went as far as offering in writing to Government to abandon 50% of its legal cost if Government withdrew its appeal. Regrettably again and keeping with its unfortunate default approach, the request was again declined,” the Chairperson of the NEF Board, Terence Makari, said.
The government proceeded with the appeal, which was heard on 6 July, and the judgement was delivered on 2 September.
According to the judgement, Makari explained, all regulations, except two, that NEF challenged in 2020 remain successfully challenged as per the initial outcome in the High Court and thus the government’s appeal was dismissed.
“We are grateful that a valuable legal precedent has been established that will guide our government in future,” Makari added.
File photo for illustrative purposes only.
