Namibia: Deputy Speaker Bemoans Poor Debate in Parliament

DEPUTY speaker of parliament Loide Kasingo says the quality of debate in parliament has deteriorated drastically, due to the failure of some parliamentarians to equip themselves with knowledge of the pertinent topics that are discussed in the house.

She said some parliamentarians have shown a glaring lack of research and consultation conducted on issues they raise in parliament, while speaking on Desert Radio’s ‘Breakfast in the Desert’ yesterday.

“All in all, the quality of debate has gone down but I also recognise that there are some people who come to the parliament prepared,” Kasingo said.

Some ruling Swapo parliamentarians are also too quiet on pertinent issues raised in parliament, she said, although she pointed to the current deputy minister of information and communication technology, Emma Theofelus, and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Inna Hengari, as those who have stimulated debate in parliament this year.

“Some parliaments in the east can fight, it is the nature of parliament. There is supposed to be rich debate. However, I do not like it when parliamentarians fight physically because it makes it difficult to control.

“I can say we did okay this year, and we managed to pass a few bills but we can always do better and also push to do better.

“My view is that we need to have our parliamentarians bring rich debate to parliament. When they stand up for a point of order, it is important that they stand up well-informed, not just raising a point of order.”

PDM president McHenry Venaani told Desert Radio that the official opposition is quite satisfied with the level of debate they raised in parliament. He said the opposition robustly contributed to various debates brought to parliament, including the genocide discussion.

Meanwhile, Landless People’s Movement deputy leader Henny Seibeb expressed disappointment in the lack of progress on certain bills, which political commentator Graham Hopwood agreed with.

“I think it was quite disappointing that the number of bills that were sent to parliament were not passed, however, there is an upside that parliament continued even during the lockdown. This was a positive. It is also encouraging that parliament also managed to put ministers on the spot on certain issues,” Hopwood said.

Political analyst Phanuel Kaapama said one could see from the number of questions, that parliamentarians are not doing much research.

“Of course, it’s not everyone but you could see those that have done their homework and research with regards to policy making and other contributions.”

Kaapama said he has seen debates eliciting much emotion that have led to disruptions in the house, and added that not all parliamentarians contribute, which speaks to the quality of the debates.

“If MPs are weak and not up to the task or standard, the quality of the oversight will be compromised.”

Comparing the current parliament with previous ones in Namibia, the first parliamentarians were people of high standard and thinking, Kaapama said.

“The current parliamentarians have not been able to live up to that. Yes, training and orientation are important, but political parties need to be serious on members they are nominating in the house,” said Kaapama.

Political commentator Ndumba Kamwanya said the selections of parliamentary candidates have become a popularity contest, rather than being based on substance in terms of quality and what the person can do in parliament.

“The selection process should be of the standard to be part of the parliament in terms of education, in terms of how people understand issues pertaining to making laws and also understanding the working of the Namibian economy,” he said.

Kamwanya said the quality of debate in parliament has drastically deteriorated for a number of reasons.

“The type of people elected to parliament in terms of understanding issues and what goes in the process of making laws the knowledge has declined.”

He said parties are to be blamed for how parliamentarians articulate issues in parliament.

“Parties should have certain standards when selecting people to be part of parliament, otherwise we will have to ask why they are being paid by the Namibian people.”

By Namibian.