George Sanzila
Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi has revealed plans to form a parliamentary committee intended to monitor and evaluate progress on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Katjavivi mentioned this yesterday during a meeting with the deputy president of the French senate, Valéry Létard, who is leading a delegation of French business leaders on a visit to explore opportunities in Namibia.
He noted that with the country being part of the United Nations and Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) and having committed itself to the SDGs that were preceded by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which did not yield much desired results, it was important for the Namibian Parliament to benchmark with the more experienced French legislature to succeed in implementing the blueprint adopted by UN member states to end poverty, protect the planet and a achieve a more sustainable future for all.
The speaker suggested that the parliamentary committee could collaborate with its French counterpart to realise this goal. “As parliament, we would like to monitor and evaluate national progress on SDGs and AU Agenda 2063. We are in the process of forming a parliamentary committee on this subject and perhaps the French parliament could work together with this committee,” pleaded Katjavivi.
Apart from evaluating the SDGs, Hon. Katjavivi further implored the French lawmaker to help the Namibian parliament in playing a critical role of monitoring the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) regime, a scheme aimed at creating a free trade area (FTA) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Katjavivi wants a win-win situation between parties, noting that the agreement is imperative in creating jobs, improving the economy and the welfare of citizens.
Katjavivi further suggested to the multifaceted team of French experts to collaborate in the areas of solar energy, tertiary education, sanitation and water management. The speaker is concerned by the rapid urbanisation, saying it has led to a proliferation of informal settlements, particularly in the city of Windhoek, therefore putting pressure on the resources of the growing metropolis. “Windhoek is faced with a high rate of rural-urban migration. This is putting tremendous pressure on services in the informal settlements. As you can imagine, this is compromising health and sanitation in these places,” said Katjavivi.
Létard on her part noted that her current visit to Namibia was necessitated by the earlier visit of fellow Frenchmen lawmakers Guillaume Chevrollier and Rachel Mazuir, who at the time praised Namibia’s Community Based Natural Resource Management Programme (CBNRM) for being an engine towards the promotion of sustainable growth. The latter are said to have produced a very good report on the prospects of Namibia. They were in the country to look at issues related to climate change, such as agriculture, renewable energy and biodiversity.
Létard further stated that France was doing well in terms of decentralisation and that a city she represents enjoys a great deal of autonomy in terms of its administration, proposing that the two countries work together to look at issues of urbanisation, among many others.
*George Sanzila works at the Division: Research, Information, Publications and Editorial Services at the National Assembly.