The Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, expects better behaviour from members of parliament when the session resumes next week to debate 18 bills. Last year 12 sessions of the National Assembly (NA) had to be cancelled because too few members showed up. Three of these were cut short when MPs disappeared after tea breaks. This prompted the Speaker to resolve that the House sit for an entire working week to finalise all pending bills on their diary before going into recess. The parliamentary quorum rule dictates that 37 out of 72 voting members must be present in the National Assembly for business to take place. At the time, Gurirab said unless the Constitution is amended the quorum issue will always remain problematic. However, on Monday Gurirab was singing a different tune, saying that this year, which will be the last session of the current parliament; he is expecting MPs to perform better. “This is an election year and we expect our elected political leaders to live up to the expectations of the electorate. “We will be addressed by the President [Hifikepunye Pohamba] at a joint session of Parliament [NA] and National Council [NC]. “I will have something to say concerning that to the members of the different political parties. I want everybody to sit during the sessions so it can be a full House.” He added that he expects Prime Minister Hage Geingob as the leader of government business to lead the business of the House by tabling bills. Gurirab’s remark last year that Geingob and his Cabinet ministers should drive the work of Parliament was not well received by the latter. The Prime Minister hit back at Gurirab by defending Cabinet ministers and said the opposition could table motions in the absence of bills. This ninth session of Parliament may see 18 bills being tabled for debate, including the Audit, Marriage, National Security Council, Access and Benefits Sharing, Immigration Control Amendment, Namibia Students Financial Assistance Amendment and Child Care and Protections bills. Also, the Appropriation, Higher Education Amendment, Seed Varieties, Electronic Transactions, Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority, National Construction Industry Council, Plant Breeders’ and Farmer’s Rights as well as the Urban and Regional Planning bills could be passed this year. The last session of Parliament under the current government will be opened by the Head of State next week Tuesday.
Category:
