Africa-Press – Namibia. LANDLESS People’s Movement leader Bernadus Swartbooi has bashed president Hage Geingob’s speech at the opening of the first parliamentary session of 2023.
During the official opening of the parliament on Tuesday, Geingob said there is a need to enact laws that are effective at strengthening the safety and security of people in Namibia.
The country’s laws should protect the most vulnerable members of society, enable the growth of industry and promote investment and trade, Geingob said.
Namibia’s laws should also instill confidence in the country’s people, investors and visitors that Namibia is a country where the rights and human dignity of all are respected and protected, he added.
Geingob said proposed laws due to be tabled in parliament this year include a High Court amendment bill, magistrate courts amendment bill, and legislation on divorce, child justice, marriage and the ombudsman, which are carried over from the parliament’s previous session.
He encouraged parliamentarians “to redouble your efforts to ensure that there is a regular quorum in parliament so that you are able to speed up the legislative process”.
Reacting to Geingob’s address, Swartbooi said issues raised by the president were the priorities of his government.
“The arrangement in which the land bill has been put on the agenda demonstrates that it’s not an urgent issue, and the chances of the land bill being passed become far slimmer than had it been tabled in the first part of the year,” Swartbooi said.
“The high court and magistrate courts amendment bills are straightforward issues and they are important for human rights and the protection of the property of people,” he said.
Swartbooi said Geingob’s speech did not show new effort to galvanise society, nor did it show a sense of urgency.
He commented: “Is the speech inspiring? No. The content of what the president is presenting to Namibia is very disappointing.
“I wanted him to talk to his colleagues on water and electricity rights, and the expertise on agriculture production schemes along the lines of what Rwanda has done.
“Where is the post-Covid intervention in agriculture, where people must feed themselves, people go hungry every day,” he said.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani said although it was good that the president focused on some critical areas in terms of proposed legislation, there are still other crucial areas in need of legislation.
“There is a crisis in the health sector, especially with procurement,” Venaani said.
“The minister of health needs to look into this procurement thing that is happening and the parliament needs to pay attention to this,” he said.
Veenani said an issue that the president failed to raise was that the parliament is starting late with its business for the year.
“The parliament is always in recess, it’s like we are starting the year in February while the year started last month,” he said.
Member of parliament Emma Theophilus said she was excited about the bills mentioned by the president.
“The bills will allow Namibians to exercise their rights and have more opportunities to improve their rights,” she said.
PDM member Elma Dienda said she hoped the bills would be tabled this year, to be debated by members of parliament.
“Seeing is believing and we are ready for the bills. I hope they will be tabled this year,” she said.
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