Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) member of parliament Fredrick Shitana has proposed that commercial banks be required to provide public ablution facilities or risk losing their fitness certificates.
Speaking during a parliament session on Wednesday, Shitana questioned why some businesses that serve the public for long hours are required to have public toilets to obtain a fitness certificate.
He asked why commercial banks seem to be exempt from this requirement.
“To obtain a fitness certificate is to ensure that those institutions meet the acceptable standards of health and safety. In order to allow them to conduct business, certain categories of businesses, especially the ones that are operating in the hospitality industry, are required to have public toilets. Funny enough, the commercial banks don’t have public toilets,” he said.
He argued that many customers spend long hours queuing in banks, often without access to toilets.
He said public toilets are a necessity, not a luxury, political issue, or ideology, and stressed the situation is worse for people with disabilities.
In 2022, the Bankers Association of Namibia (BAN) stated that commercial banks would only consider building toilets for their clients if the Ministry of Home Affairs (at its former building along Independence Avenue) first provided such facilities for its clients.
The association made this remark in response to media questions over what was considered arrogance by commercial banks, specifically, their reluctance to offer restroom facilities to the public.
“Honourable members, honourable ministers, I am a very big fan of the banks, and I am a big client of the banks, but I have never made use of those facilities ever since I opened my bank account,” Shitana said.
He pointed out that in places like Greenwell and Eenhana, banks such as Standard Bank do not have public toilets unless they are located inside shopping malls.
Shitana directed questions to minister of finance Ericah Shafudah, asking how many banks across the country provide toilet facilities for their clients.
He also asked how banks that lack toilets are still able to obtain fitness certificates despite serving hundreds of customers daily.
Businesses are generally required to provide toilet facilities for both staff and the public, with specific rules depending on the type of establishment.
For example, restaurants must have separate toilets for male and female staff, as well as for patrons, while shops are required to provide restrooms for their employees.
In 2002, the Windhoek City Council announced that restaurants without toilets would have their licences withdrawn.
During its monthly meeting at that time, the council warned that restaurant owners in major shopping centres should stop directing customers to shared public restrooms and instead ensure that toilets are available on their premises.
Shafudah has not yet responded to Shitana’s inquiry.
