George Sanzila

WINDHOEK - Speaker of the National Assembly, Prof Peter Katjavivi says despite the elections in November often preceded by heavy political party campaigns, the legislature will continue to implement its mandate.
Katjavivi made these remarks ahead of the resumption of the 10TH session of the 6th Parliament that started several weeks ago.

According to Katjavivi, Parliament will continue with its work and members are expected to comply as per the Parliament rules and procedures. 

“We are looking forward to a new session as we conclude the work of Parliament for the year 2019. The lack of voting quorum, which is, referred to as decision making quorum presents a particular challenge. However, we have never experienced a protracted delay in taking a decision on any matter. Members are summoned using our parliamentary system and they basically do turn up as soon as possible,” assured Katjavivi.

Katjavivi said several bills will be prioritised to ensure they are passed within the stipulated timeframe. 
“The National Assembly stands ready to take on the current bills, to ensure that they are properly prioritized so as to keep up within the tight timetable. We have three bills from the Ministry of Finance that lapsed and they are likely to be re-introduced,” he stated.

The latter bills include the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority Bill, Financial Services Adjudicator Bill and the Financial Institutions and Markets Bill. 

Other bills to be considered include the Prevention and Combating of Torture Bill and the Prevention and Combating of Pollution of the sea by Oil amendment Bill by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works and Transport respectively.

The Speaker further commended the just ended 5th session of the Children’s Parliament, an undertaking he described as a platform that afforded young people a chance to directly and publicly participate in the democratic processes of the country. He noted that recommendations that arise from the Children’s Parliament are normally forwarded to line ministries and incorporated into draft bills presented in the National Assembly. Resolutions adopted during the session included awareness on issues related to accessibility for disabled learners, renovation of dilapidated schools and the banning of child marriages among many others.

*George Sanzila works for the National Assembly’s Research, Information, Publications and Editorial Services Division.