MPs keep dialogue going

WINDHOEK – Members of Parliament from 28 African countries and seven from the European Union are attending a parliamentary conference in Windhoek this week.

The conference, which marks the tenth anniversary of the Windhoek Dialogue, is aimed at sharing ideas on common values such as the rule of law, respect for human dignity and human rights, multi-party democracy and good governance with regular, free and fair elections. Officially opening the conference on Sunday, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, stressed the importance of the meeting.He said transformation arrangements within and between European Union member states and the birth of the African Union had greatly enlarged the scope of interaction and exchange of best practices that offered Africa an opportunity to invest more in democratisation, human capital and the effective management of the global economy.Gurirab also endorsed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) as the most suitable transformation and development strategy that African countries have embarked upon.”Right now, in Africa, we need to do something and do it really fast, about education, health care and housing for all, find a cure for HIV-AIDS, provide clean water and electricity for the poor, and convince the world to stop spending astronomical sums of money on nuclear bombs and other weapons of mass destruction,” he said.Gurirab also said that African parliamentary minority parties needed to strengthen their competitive advantage.”African opposition parties and other formations out of parliament have constantly shown a poor performance record for a long time now.Many are splinter groups, some are stuck in the past that people are hostile to, and others have not quite found their way in the rough and tumble of competitive power,” he said.Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) president Katuutire Kaura told the conference that Namibia has been blessed with peace for the last 16 years because the opposition parties had accepted the outcomes of elections and did not resort to surreptitious activities.”There was of course a truism in Africa that you cannot run an election and lose it, but that truism has been proven wrong.Governments have changed hands in Africa, and former ruling parties are now in opposition in Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and so on.Therefore, we are not in a hurry in Namibia, we shall continue to keep democracy alive in our country and ultimately take over the reins of leadership from the present majority party Swapo,” Kaura said.Among the high-ranking officials who are attending the Windhoek Dialogue are the Prime Minister of Niger, Hama Amadou, and the president of Unita, Isaias Samakuva.EU parliamentarians came from Germany, Portugal, Poland, The Netherlands and Spain.The meeting ends today.- NampaOfficially opening the conference on Sunday, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Theo-Ben Gurirab, stressed the importance of the meeting.He said transformation arrangements within and between European Union member states and the birth of the African Union had greatly enlarged the scope of interaction and exchange of best practices that offered Africa an opportunity to invest more in democratisation, human capital and the effective management of the global economy.Gurirab also endorsed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) as the most suitable transformation and development strategy that African countries have embarked upon.”Right now, in Africa, we need to do something and do it really fast, about education, health care and housing for all, find a cure for HIV-AIDS, provide clean water and electricity for the poor, and convince the world to stop spending astronomical sums of money on nuclear bombs and other weapons of mass destruction,” he said.Gurirab also said that African parliamentary minority parties needed to strengthen their competitive advantage.”African opposition parties and other formations out of parliament have constantly shown a poor performance record for a long time now.Many are splinter groups, some are stuck in the past that people are hostile to, and others have not quite found their way in the rough and tumble of competitive power,” he said.Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) president Katuutire Kaura told the conference that Namibia has been blessed with peace for the last 16 years because the opposition parties had accepted the outcomes of elections and did not resort to surreptitious activities.”There was of course a truism in Africa that you cannot run an election and lose it, but that truism has been proven wrong.Governments have changed hands in Africa, and former ruling parties are now in opposition in Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi and so on.Therefore, we are not in a hurry in Namibia, we shall continue to keep democracy alive in our country and ultimately take over the reins of leadership from the present majority party Swapo,” Kaura said.Among the high-ranking officials who are attending the Windhoek Dialogue are the Prime Minister of Niger, Hama Amadou, and the president of Unita, Isaias Samakuva.EU parliamentarians came from Germany, Portugal, Poland, The Netherlands and Spain.The meeting ends today.- Nampa