Former academic and economist, Omu Kakujaha-Matundu, has said the Namibian Parliament can only hold the Executive responsible for budgetary expenditure if it establishes a fully-fledged budget office.
He said that even though Parliament has a budget committee, it does not have the capacity to scrutinise and supervise the execution of the national budget.
He made the observation during the breakfast meeting for the mid-year budget review for the 2023/24 financial year on Tuesday.
The former University of Namibia academic noted that Parliament does not get enough resources to carry out its mandate.
“Parliament doesn’t get the resources they need to do what they have to do. So for them to do this, they need a fully-fledged budget office.
They have just a budget committee, but what they need is a fully-fledged budget office. What it does has almost the same capacity as the ministry of finance, because members of parliament are medical doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers and the like. And they do not have the same acumen as those in the ministry of finance,” Kakujaha-Matundu said during his presentation.
On his part, Speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, said lawmakers have the mandate to guard the nation’s treasury.
“As the guardians of the nation’s purse, the Namibian constitution entrusts us, the Parliament, with the solemn duty to oversee the executive’s management of public finances. This oversight is not merely a function. It is our covenant with the citizens of Namibia to ensure that every dollar allocated is a step forward in addressing the formidable triad of poverty, unemployment and inequality,” he said.
Katjavivi noted that the breakfast meeting, which was attended by lawmakers to unpack the recently tabled mid-year budget, will enable parliamentarians to understand and “align their fiscal path with the vision of prosperous, equitable and industrialised Namibia by 2030, while upholding tenets of transparency and accountability.”
– Nampa
Photo: Parly budget
Caption: Do more…Economic expert Omu Kakujaha-Matundu. Photo:Nampa