By: Dolly Menas
Agriculture, water and land reform minister Calle Schlettwein says Property Valuers Profession Amendment Bill will include increased fines and penalties for improper conduct by property valuers.
He said this while tabling the property valuers’ profession amendment bill 2022 in Parliament on Tuesday.
“The Act seeks to improve certain definitions to make them clearer. Specifying, realigning and delineating the functions of the minister and the council for property valuers profession,” he said.
According to Schlettwein, Namibia does not have adequate legislation in place to regulate the valuation practice.
He said, besides an increase in fines and penalties for improper conduct, the proposed delineation will set and enforce the rules and standards of the profession.
“At that time, the valuation profession in the country was considered only as part of the discipline of accountancy, estate agency and banking law, while, in reality, valuation transcends these disciplines and requires good knowledge of property law, economics, accountancy, town planning, environmental science, construction and quantity surveying among others,” he said.
He also said that the act was introduced to regulate the profession by making professional valuation practitioners accountable for their conduct, eliminating unethical conduct by unqualified people masquerading as valuers.
According to the minister, the act provides a legal framework for regulating the valuation practice in the country by establishing an independent body known as the Namibian Council for the Property Valuers Profession.
“Since its implementation ten years ago, regulatory gaps and implementation challenges were identified, necessitating specific measures and regulatory amendments to address the identified areas,” Schlettwein said.
Schlettwein stressed that the alignment of the act will pave the way for making the regulations by the minister and the setting of rules by the council.
“The council’s primary function is to register professional valuers, associate professional valuers, valuers in training, and student valuers in training and specified categories in the property valuation profession.” he stamped.
He added that the council sets Namibian and international valuation standards and principles through education, training and issuance of best practice guidelines to valuers.
“The council protects the Namibian public from the current unregulated valuation practices in the property valuation profession, in line with the global best practice,” he added.
Schlettwein stressed that to achieve the stated policy and regulatory objectives, section one of the principal act is amended by the substitution for the definition of prescribed and specifying the scope of such prescription, being the regulations made by the minister through a consultative process.
