Minister asks NA to ratify US deal

THE National Assembly will debate the US development package for Namibia two weeks from now after Works and Transport Minister Helmut Angula tabled a motion yesterday, asking the House to ratify the N$2,4 billion Millennium Challenge Account Compact.

Present in the National Assembly was a contingent of Swapo Party Youth League members who alleged that the package was a “sell-out” to the US and demanded the resignation of Angula and former Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore. The Compact apparently stipulates that at least two lodges on the periphery of the Etosha National Park should be run by joint ventures between communal conservancies and the private sector, which the Swapo Youth League suspects will go to American companies, for 10 years.Jerry Ekandjo, Minister of Local and Regional Government, yesterday already had his hand up to say something when DTA politician McHenry Venaani rose to ask the Speaker to adjourn the debate until October 23.The Speaker then asked if there were any objections to the adjournment and quickly rapped the desk with his gavel and said: “Agreed to”, as Ekandjo lowered his hand.When motivating his motion, Angula told the House that only the final MCA Compact document was the official one.”There seems to be pages circulating out there of interim stages of the document,” he said.The document distributed in Parliament does not contain all the annexures to the agreement nor the procurement rules, which the National Assembly must also ratify.Venaani of the DTA told The Namibian yesterday that MPs would need copies of the full document and the procurement rules.”We cannot ratify such a huge development project without scrutinising all the documents, especially these special procurement rules,” he said.The debate will start on October 23.The Compact apparently stipulates that at least two lodges on the periphery of the Etosha National Park should be run by joint ventures between communal conservancies and the private sector, which the Swapo Youth League suspects will go to American companies, for 10 years.Jerry Ekandjo, Minister of Local and Regional Government, yesterday already had his hand up to say something when DTA politician McHenry Venaani rose to ask the Speaker to adjourn the debate until October 23.The Speaker then asked if there were any objections to the adjournment and quickly rapped the desk with his gavel and said: “Agreed to”, as Ekandjo lowered his hand.When motivating his motion, Angula told the House that only the final MCA Compact document was the official one.”There seems to be pages circulating out there of interim stages of the document,” he said.The document distributed in Parliament does not contain all the annexures to the agreement nor the procurement rules, which the National Assembly must also ratify.Venaani of the DTA told The Namibian yesterday that MPs would need copies of the full document and the procurement rules.”We cannot ratify such a huge development project without scrutinising all the documents, especially these special procurement rules,” he said.The debate will start on October 23.