Windhoek
Cabinet has been asked to give the legislative arm of government sufficient time to review bills brought before the National Assembly.
Speaker of the National Assembly Professor Peter Katjavivi made the request during the opening session of the Fourth session of the Sixth Parliament this week., where he stressed that there has been a lack of proper coordination in the tabling of bills in the house.
“The Executive needs to give the House ample time to review bills. Not all bills should be treated with urgency,” said Katjavivi.
“The issue of rushing through bills undermines the timetable of the House and compromises the quality of the final piece of legislation that emanates from such a bill.”
He, therefore, appealed to Cabinet to ensure that Parliament does not compromise its law-making process.
“However, having said the above, I would like to mention that exceptional cases will be treated with all the merit they deserve.”
He further announced that three bills have been considered and confirmed without amendments by the National Council, which have already been signed into law by President Hage Geingob.
These include the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill, the Business and Intellectual Property Authority Bill and the Namibia Investment Promotion Bill.
Katjavivi also referred to the rejection of the Namibian Citizenship Amendment Bill by the National Council and said it would be placed on the order paper for reconsideration as soon as possible, as the National Assembly is required to consider and officially scrap the proposed amendments.