Windhoek
The National Assembly is expected to reject and finally put to bed the controversial Citizenship Bill, which was vetoed by the National Council – the House of review –recently.
The National Assembly will resume its last session for this year in two weeks’ time and is set to reconsider the Bill that has generated a firestorm of criticism. The Bill also monumentally failed to enjoy a favourable reception from President Hage Geingob and his Cabinet.
It was tabled by Home Affairs Minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and passed through the National Assembly before its referral to the National Council. But at the National Council it was thrown out as the House rejected the principle of the Bill, highlighting its unconstitutionality.
Iivula-Ithana tabled the Bill in a bid to override a Supreme Court ruling which ordered the ministry to grant citizenship to a Namibian-born child whose parents are foreign nationals.
This sparked a public outcry and the National Council decision calmed hearts and restored confidence in the independence of the National Council. This also reaffirmed the idea of the separation of powers between the three arms of the state.
Also, shortly after this and against better advice, Iivula-Ithana also withdrew the Bill altogether and is now expected to motivate the withdrawal when the National Assembly resumes.
Speaking to New Era yesterday, the National Assembly’s deputy secretary Findley Harker reiterated that the Bill received an overwhelming rejection and the National Assembly will also reject and finally bring closure to its short-lived existence.
“The National Assembly must reconsider the Bill. Either reconfirm the Bill if they want to pass it by a two-third majority or reject it,” Harker explained.
“But as you are aware, even the President is against the Bill. So the Speaker will announce that the National Council objected to the principle of the Bill and then the House will go into committee stage to reconsider the Bill,” he said.
“Then the minister will take the floor to explain. Well, she is also now in agreement because Cabinet in the end rejected the Bill. She will just give an explanation to state that we will not go further with the Bill and will abide by the rejection of the principle by the National Council.”
Harker further said that the National Assembly will have an easy start to the session as they completed all pending work on the agenda during the previous sitting.
However, chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on human resources and community development for public consultations, Bernadette Jagger, earlier told New Era that the committee is likely to start public engagements on how best the country can address the shortage of skills among especially rural youth, in a bid to eradicate poverty, improve standards of living and create sustainability.
This follows the motion moved by Swapo backbencher in the National Assembly Veikko Nekundi during the last session.