Ludorf Iyambo
There is no need to lock up your gambling machine; the government will take care of it.
These were the remarks of the minister of environment, forestry and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, at the launch of the new Gambling board, which will be chaired by Namibia National Liberation Veterans Association (NNLVA) president Ben Shikongo.
“There are gambling machines that are still not registered, people thinking that their machine will be confiscated. No machine will be confiscated,” Shifeta said.
He said this was in line with a new system that will control and regulate all gambling machines in the whole country.
Shifeta said that the new system will be put into operation by the new board in due course.
Shifeta said that the system will link all the gambling machines to the central reporting system within the ministry of finance and give feedback to the board.
This will help the gambling board know how much they are making and should pay in taxes.
The minister further said with this system, the Gambling Board will receive the data to know how many machines they have in the country and how much money the machines make.
The system will also reveal how much has been paid to Stated Income and Stated Assets [SASA].
Shifeta said that the new system has an added advantage in that it has a device that will be installed in all the machines. “This device will protect the machine from being stolen because it will be monitored 24 hours. No one will then lose their machine.”
The minister also said that the new system will include taverns and bars that were previously not regulated by the gambling board.
“The board had only Casino and Gambling houses. For now, there is a provision that we can make. In the gazettement, we can now announce the other categories. We can now include tavern and bars, and this is the provision that was not on there before”.
Shifeta further called on Casino and Gambling houses to register their machines.
According to the minister, government will give the gambling industry a grace period to all the people who did not register their machines. “I just want to make it clear that, after that grace period, every machine that is not registered will be locked out. It will not be able to operate in Namibia.”
Shikongo, who chairs the new board, will be deputized by Toska Sem, while Josua Rakikua Kaumbi, Sandra! Oweses, Uerijeta Kauaria, Erastus Johanes and Amanda Heydenreich were also appointed as members. The board has been appointed for a period of three years until June 2024.
“We appeal to you to conduct the business of the Gambling Board with distinction and complete dedication to the service of the Namibian Government and the public at large. Your commercial activities should contribute to the economic growth of this country,” said Shifeta.
Shikongo stated that the board is not going to embarrass the Government, “so that at the end the minister will not be opposed to having appointed useless people.”
“To the newly appointed members, we should work hand in hand, work as a team, with spirit, despite our political affiliation we must work together for the benefit and the betterment of our country”.
