{"id":60509,"date":"2023-12-22T17:18:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T17:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023"},"modified":"2023-12-22T17:47:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T17:47:46","slug":"namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023","title":{"rendered":"Namibia\u2019s parliamentary journey in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>As the curtain draws close on 2023 with only a week left until we welcome 2024, it\u2019s time to reflect on the dynamic and eventful year that unfolded within the halls of the Namibian Parliament.<\/p>\n

The year was marked by a series of legislative milestones, political debates and societal challenges which tested the resilience and adaptability of Namibia\u2019s parliamentary system.<\/p>\n

Same-sex marriages<\/p>\n

One of the standout moments in the parliamentary calendar was the swift passage of Swapo member of parliament Jerry Ekandjo\u2019s private member\u2019s bill in both the National Assembly and National Council, aimed at outlawing the recognition of same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

A majority of lawmakers rallied behind the Bill.<\/p>\n

Maudjuu, as Ekandjo is affectionately known, introduced it with the aim of amending the Marriages Act of 1961 to outlaw same-sex marriage in Namibia. He wants the Bill to provide a precise definition of the term \u2018spouse\u2019, in tandem with Namibia\u2019s definition of marriage.<\/p>\n

The Bill is currently in the hands of the head of state to either accept or reject.<\/p>\n

This matter was again topped by a Cabinet decision to introduce a new marriage bill that requires people desiring to wed to submit marriage applications, which will be featured in newspapers for public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

The proposed law was sponsored by the former deputy minister of home affairs Daniel Kashikola, and could also have been a slap in the face for same-sex marriages as it does not recognise such unions at all.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Kashikola was shuffled out by President Hage Geingob in September, and replaced by Lucia Witbooi.<\/p>\n

Parliamentary standing committee<\/p>\n

In the middle of this year, the parliamentary standing committee on gender equality, social development and family affairs visited various regions around the country. There, it found that most hospitals and satellite clinics are facing a plethora of problems, including a shortage of bed linen and space in maternity wards, while some do not have sufficient refrigeration to store critical medicine.<\/p>\n

Million dollars each<\/p>\n

Another highlight that sparked public outrage is the motion that was tabled by Swapo MP Eliphas Dingara, calling for a million Namibia dollars to be allocated to each Namibian.<\/p>\n

He said in his motivation that Namibia is rich enough in natural resources for the state to afford to take care of its population.<\/p>\n

At a later stage, Dingara withdrew his motion, saying it needed to be well-thought-through.<\/p>\n

Housing crisis<\/p>\n

The year also witnessed a renewed focus on addressing the housing crisis in the country, with parliamentarians actively engaging in discussions around housing crisis mitigations.<\/p>\n

The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) held a land conference to unpack some of the housing challenges, while the Landless People\u2019s Movement (LPM)\u2019s MP Utaara Mootu drew attention to the critical issues of housing shortages and funding gaps in Namibia.<\/p>\n

Paternity leave<\/p>\n

Additionally, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila last month said the government would consider a motion supporting the introduction of paternity leave.<\/p>\n

This is after PDM member Winnie Moongo called for five months\u2019 maternity leave with full pay, and the introduction of paternity leave to Namibia\u2019s legal framework.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. As the curtain draws close on 2023 with only a week left until we welcome 2024, it\u2019s time to reflect on the dynamic and eventful year that unfolded within the halls of the Namibian Parliament. The year was marked by a series of legislative milestones, political debates and societal challenges which tested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":60507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-60509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nNamibia\u2019s parliamentary journey in 2023 - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the curtain draws close on 2023 with only a week left until we welcome 2024, it\u2019s time to reflect on the dynamic and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Namibia\u2019s parliamentary journey in 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the curtain draws close on 2023 with only a week left until we welcome 2024, it\u2019s time to reflect on the dynamic and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-22T17:18:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-22T17:47:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/12\/sm_1703254582.080734.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Namibia\u2019s parliamentary journey in 2023\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-22T17:18:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-22T17:47:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\"},\"wordCount\":528,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/12\/sm_1703254582.080734.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibias-parliamentary-journey-in-2023\",\"name\":\"Namibia\u2019s parliamentary journey in 2023 - 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