Lahja Nashuuta
National Assembly (NA) Speaker Peter Katjavivi is satisfied with the performance of parliamentarians in the execution of their legislative duties and responsibilities over the last five years.
Katjavivi, who has been at the helm of the institution since 2015, hastened to say that despite the achievements, Parliament is not without challenges.
While parliamentary committees diligently produce insightful reports and recommendations, challenges in implementation were experienced, he observed.
This is due to factors such as resources’ limitations and inter-governmental/parliamentary coordination.“Recognising this, Parliament has intensified efforts to strengthen follow-up mechanisms and enhance collaboration with relevant government agencies to ensure committee outputs translate into tangible actions. Additionally, tracking mechanisms are being developed to monitor the progress of recommendations more effectively. The Directorate of Committee Services has included in their staff complement a chief parliamentary clerk for monitoring and evaluation,” he said. In the last Parliament, there were 64 sessions, which saw 17 Bills being passed as well as the tabling of 18 motions, 24 ministerial report, and 78 auditor general’s reports.
Katjavivi noted that Members of Parliament (MPs) actively engaged in debates, demonstrating their commitment to democratic principles and the nation’s diverse interests, which resulted in significant legislative progress.
Chiefly, he pointed to the passing of the long-awaited Access to Information Act, which enhances transparency and accountability in governance, as one of their successes.
The Combating of Domestic Violence Amendment Act, which aims to strengthen protection against domestic abuse, was amongst their other highlights.
Parliament has made progress in institutional reforms, including the initiation of the Namibia e-Parliament Strategy 2022-2027, which is transforming the legislative process through digitalisation.
Furthermore, the Parliament Clinic was established to provide essential healthcare services to members and staff, ensuring a healthy work environment.
In terms of youth engagement, Katjavivi pointed out that the Children’s Parliament convened multiple times, allowing young people to voice their concerns and contribute to policymaking.
These milestones reflect Parliament’s commitment to governance, public engagement and progressive policymaking.
Underfunding
Over the years, MPs have complained about the underfunding of parliamentary standing committees. This has made it difficult for MPs to effectively execute their work.
To address these challenges, Parliament has engaged with the finance ministry to advocate for increased budget allocations, emphasising the critical role these committees play in legislative oversight.
The Speaker added that resource-sharing initiatives have been introduced to enhance efficiency.
Parliament will thus continue exploring alternative funding avenues, such as partnerships with international organisations, to supplement government funding.
Besides that, Parliament will introduce a performance-based funding model, ensuring that standing committees with impactful recommendations receive adequate resources.
Parliament will furthermore increase public-private collaborations to enhance research capacity and outreach programmes to strengthen the effectiveness of parliamentary committees and improve oversight functions.
Momentum
With Parliament resuming today, all eyes will be on concluding their work before the new crop of MPs is sworn in to take over the baton.
The Regional and Constituency Development Fund Bill is among the 15 Bills expected to be finalised soon.
This Bill, brought forth by minister of urban and rural development Erastus Utoni, advocates for decentralising funds from the central government to the regional and constituency levels to fast-track the implementation of community-based, small-scale development projects.
Utoni, when motivating the Bill before Parliament, said the proposed legislation is a response to the challenges faced by regional councils in fulfilling their mandates due to limited financial resources.
The Regional and Constituency Fund will be administered by an appointed board to be chaired by the executive director of the National Planning Commission, and deputised by the executive director of the urban and rural development ministry.
The board will comprise a representative from a local authority, the finance ministry, and the National Youth Council, amongst others.
Other Bills expected to sail through Parliament this month include the Public Gatherings and Public Processions Bill, as well as the Roads Bill.
The debate on the critical issue of extracting water from the Ohangwena Aquifer 2 as a vital resource for the Ohangwena region and the broader northern region of Namibia is likewise expected to take centre-stage.
Bills
Responding to questions, NA spokesperson Sakeus Kadhikwa said between February and October 2024, 17 Bills were tabled, of which 11 were passed without amendments, three passed with amendments, and two were reconsidered.
Kadhikwa said 18 motions were tabled, of which four were adopted, 12 were referred to a parliamentary standing committee, and two were withdrawn.
Reflection
Reflecting on their performance, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentary chief whip Maximilliant Katjimune told New Era that his party last year tabled 17 motions, 90% of which went through.
Meanwhile, Landless People’s Movement (LPM) spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa said about 12 motions tabled by the party last year were referred to different parliamentary standing committees.
In the reporting period, a total of 24 annual and ministerial reports were tabled.
Regarding petitions, only one was brought forward.
Two reports from committees were referred for scrutiny and reporting.
Furthermore, eight reports from committees were tabled based on local visits, meetings, and public hearings conducted.
Four reports from committees were tabled concerning foreign visits and meetings attended.
Lastly, three reports from selected committees were tabled, with one of them being adopted.
In terms of questions, 78 questions were asked with notices, of which 43 were replied to, one was misdirected, and five lapsed.
In addition, 24 urgent oral questions were put forth during the session.
A motion by LPM chief whip Utaara Mootu, calling for the expropriation of land of foreign absentee landlords without compensation in Namibia, is among the motions which are expected to sail through Parliament before the term ends.
MPs speak
Katjimune maintained that the 7th Parliament started a bit rough around the edges.
He said it was significantly impacted by Covid-19 in terms of its productivity and output.
However, there has been a significant improvement towards the end in terms of the number of pieces of legislation and motions which were passed as well as the overall output, he added.
Katjimune stated that one fundamental aspect that Parliament as an institution needs
to improve on is the efficient usage of time, and prioritisation of key legislation that tangibly impacts people’s lives.
Furthermore, Parliament must derive legislative instruments which compel the executive to implement motions that are tabled, passed and adopted. “Most, if not all, parliamentary motions which are tabled become white elephants. This renders the rhetorical exercise of tabling a parliamentary motion pointless at times. It is also my wish that the Parliamentary Service Commission Bill finally be tabled in the 8th Parliament to make Parliament a much more independent organ of State,” he said.
Katjimune had a piece of advice for the incoming MPs.
“They must always remember that Parliament is a House of debate that is very rough and fiery, but disagreements between MPs should not become disagreeable. Debates should eventually all lead to resolving a particular problem that affects our people,” he continued.
Agreeing with him was National Unity Democratic Organisation lawmaker Joseph Kauandenge.
“It was a very difficult time for Parliament to function properly because we had challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. That really affected the proper functioning of the parliament for almost two years.
After that, we really tried to pass as many Bills as possible, but I’m not happy with the Bills we managed to pass. I believe that we could have done much more,” he reasoned.
On what Parliament should do differently, he was unequivocal.
“I honestly believe that in its current form and set-up, Parliament has been reduced to a mere rubber-stamp of the executive Bills, without really doing its constitutional job of seriously holding the executive branch to account before Parliament”, he stressed.
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