Africa-Press – Namibia. PRIME minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has defended the decision taken to expand the parliament from its initial 98 seats in 2014 to the current 146.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila yesterday on Desert Radio 95.3 FM said the expansion did not solely have a negative impact on the ballooning public sector wage bill.
“If you look at the budget, you will be able to identify the specific years when that dramatic increase happened in relation to the wage bill, and you will be able to link that to the specific things that happened in those years,” she said.
Her sentiments come at the back of human rights lawyer Norman Tjombe questioning whether the expanded parliament has proven more efficient than the leaner one.
“We have seen an increase in the number of women in parliament, and their contribution brings a perspective to issues that were previously not adequately represented.
“It is very easy for people to trivialise the importance of gender and to try and say whatever we do to accommodate gender equity is not justified by the results, but I think it is,” she said.
Meanwhile, according to the latest budget allocation, parliamentary allocation to political parties ballooned by 50% – from N$400 000 to N$960 000.
The Namibian last year reported that political parties received N$282 million between 2000 and 2014.
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila attributed the ballooning expenditure to an increase in the number of civil servants and their benefits.
She said the expansion of parliament also created gender parity.
According to the premier, taxpayers are getting value for their money through civil servant’s salaries.
“In the area of housing, we have a lot of challenges there that we need to overcome, but we also have homeowners schemes in the public sector, which is something few countries have around the world. But we are saying we still have poverty,” she said.
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