Constitution not fully internalised: opposition

SIXTEEN years since Namibia’s Constitution was adopted, Government is yet to live up to all the expectations and values it enshrines.

The official opposition contends that democratic and political values enshrined in the Constitution are not being sufficiently internalised in the daily political, social, economic and cultural life and interactions of ordinary Namibians, public institutions and Government. “For 16 years a negative, despicable political culture of denigrating and demonising the political opposition has been prevalent in Namibia and has spearheaded by the Government and its chief representatives,” said Congress of Democrats Leader Ben Ulenga.He was speaking at the first commemoration of Constitution Day convened by the Office of the Ombudsman, held outside Parliament buildings in Windhoek yesterday under the theme of the Constitution as a living document.Ulenga cited public institutions such as the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) as having been turned into “party-political tools at the disposal of the ruling party”, instead of serving the nation in a neutral and unbiased fashion.”The balanced relationship between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary has often been tampered with through casting aspersions, political attack by senior Government officials and through unbalanced allocation of public resources,” Ulenga said.Ulenga said despite the unequal share of resources, his and other opposition parties had tried to keep the constitution a living document by using political and legal means to defend democracy.Present at yesterday’s commemoration were some of the committee whose task it was to draw up what today has been referred to as Government’s roadmap and the blueprint of democracy.Namibia’s 16th commemoration of the day it adopted its Constitution and paved the way for Independence was also marked by the launch of a book by Hage Geingob on the drafting of the Constitution.”After all, democracy is about rules and processes and the Constitution is those rules,” said Geingob.As the Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, Geingob said he was proud to be among the first African nations to draft its own constitution.”People are forgetting that the essence of the whole struggle was for human rights,” said Geingob.Ombudsman John Walters said the Constitution presented so many challenges and Government had to constantly review whether it was being “kept alive”.”The nation must be informed of their rights and know what their rights are,” said Walters.Noting that to date the Constitution had only been amended once, to allow former President Sam Nujoma to serve a third term as head of state, Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana – the only woman who was part of drafting the constitution – said it could not be ruled out that it could happen again.”Perhaps today, there is no pressing need, but I am sure that I can say the same for future dates.The Constitution should remain relevant to the people, but equally, the people’s mere whims cannot dictate constitutional content,” said Iivula-Ithana.”It is a very tight balance that must be kept, and as such calls for sober leadership.”She said she viewed it a priority of her Ministry to constantly reform, review and draft laws to bring meaning to constitutional provisions.However, she said her Ministry was cash-strapped and thus the courts were not adequately manned and equipped to ensure that the interests of victims of transgressors of freedoms and rights were well represented.”Where there are no courts, we must take courts and where there are inadequate facilities, we must provide adequate facilities.In this regard, the work is ongoing and I can only wish for more resources, whether human or financial, as we are thin on both,” said Iivula-Ithana.She said her Ministry probably lacked dedicated and skilled staff, because by joining the civil service they would have to forgo wealth and fame.Both Iivula-Ithana and the Judge President Petrus Damaseb pointed out that the Namibian constitution was yet to be tested to its limits.Damaseb said the Constitution had only been “irritated along the way”, but that it was yet to be tested ‘”severely”.Iivula-Ithana said that because Namibia had not yet experienced a Government whose ruling and opposition parties were nearly of equal strength, or a party with a majority in one house of Parliament and a minority in another, certain constitutional provisions such as that of a referendum was yet to be used.Damaseb said the courts had over the years handled a number of cases which challenged constitutional rights such as right to a fair and timely trial, discrimination issues, the right to property and legal representation.But he said it was not the role of the courts to make laws; rather to see to it that they were adhered to.However, he warned against the drafting of new laws that would curtail existing, guaranteed human rights, and said new laws should rather try to expand on rather than limit them.”For 16 years a negative, despicable political culture of denigrating and demonising the political opposition has been prevalent in Namibia and has spearheaded by the Government and its chief representatives,” said Congress of Democrats Leader Ben Ulenga.He was speaking at the first commemoration of Constitution Day convened by the Office of the Ombudsman, held outside Parliament buildings in Windhoek yesterday under the theme of the Constitution as a living document.Ulenga cited public institutions such as the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) as having been turned into “party-political tools at the disposal of the ruling party”, instead of serving the nation in a neutral and unbiased fashion.”The balanced relationship between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary has often been tampered with through casting aspersions, political attack by senior Government officials and through unbalanced allocation of public resources,” Ulenga said.Ulenga said despite the unequal share of resources, his and other opposition parties had tried to keep the constitution a living document by using political and legal means to defend democracy.Present at yesterday’s commemoration were some of the committee whose task it was to draw up what today has been referred to as Government’s roadmap and the blueprint of democracy.Namibia’s 16th commemoration of the day it adopted its Constitution and paved the way for Independence was also marked by the launch of a book by Hage Geingob on the drafting of the Constitution.”After all, democracy is about rules and processes and the Constitution is those rules,” said Geingob.As the Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly, Geingob said he was proud to be among the first African nations to draft its own constitution.”People are forgetting that the essence of the whole struggle was for human rights,” said Geingob.Ombudsman John Walters said the Constitution presented so many challenges and Government had to constantly review whether it was being “kept alive”.”The nation must be informed of their rights and know what their rights are,” said Walters.Noting that to date the Constitution had only been amended once, to allow former President Sam Nujoma to serve a third term as head of state, Attorney General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana – the only woman who was part of drafting the constitution – said it could not be ruled out that it could happen again.”Perhaps today, there is no pressing need, but I am sure that I can say the same for future dates.The Constitution should remain relevant to the people, but equally, the people’s mere whims cannot dictate constitutional content,” said Iivula-Ithana.”It is a very tight balance that must be kept, and as such calls for sober leadership.”She said she viewed it a priority of her Ministry to constantly reform, review and draft laws to bring meaning to constitutional provisions.However, she said her Ministry was cash-strapped and thus the courts were not adequately manned and equipped to ensure that the interests of victims of transgressors of freedoms and rights were well represented.”Where there are no courts, we must take courts and where there are inadequate facilities, we must provide adequate facilities.In this regard, the work is ongoing and I can only wish for more resources, whether human or financial, as we are thin on both,” said Iivula-Ithana.She said her Ministry probably lacked dedicated and skilled staff, because by joining the civil service they would have to forgo wealth and fame.Both Iivula-Ithana and the Judge President Petrus Damaseb pointed out that the Namibian constitution was yet to be tested to its limits.Damaseb said the Constitution had only been “irritated along the way”, but that it was yet to be tested ‘”severely”.Iivula-Ithana said that because Namibia had not yet experienced a Government whose ruling and opposition parties were nearly of equal strength, or a party with a majority in one house of Parliament and a minority in another, certain constitutional provisions such as that of a referendum was yet to be used.Damaseb said the courts had over the years handled a number of cases which challenged constitutional rights such as right to a fair and timely trial, discrimination issues, the right to property and legal representation.But he said it was not the role of the courts to make laws; rather to see to it that they were adhered to.However, he warned against the drafting of new laws that would curtail existing, guaranteed human rights, and said new laws should rather try to expand on rather than limit them.