MPs still on AWOL

MEMBERS of Parliament who turned up for yesterday’s session were once again sent home after an idle wait of 30 minutes in the vain hope that 37 voting MPs would pitch up to form the required quorum.

This embarrassing situation has now occurred for the fourth time since Parliament returned from its winter recess on September 15.Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Speaker of the National Assembly, threw down the gauntlet yesterday by telling the political parties represented in the House to inform him next week whether they were interested in continuing with the parliamentary sessions. ‘I adjourn the House until next week Tuesday and by then I want to hear from you about the way forward,’ Gurirab said before banging his gavel on his desk with a loud thump.A quorum is when 37 of the 72 voting MPs are present in the House and if fewer are present, the session cannot go ahead. In June this year MPs went AWOL twice within two weeks and sessions had to be cancelled. Due to a lack of quorum this week, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange could not even table his motion to change the standing rules of the National Assembly.Tjiriange wants debates to continue if fewer than 37 voting MPs are present and for the quorum rule to apply only for voting purposes.The Namibian Constitution would have to be changed to accommodate this because it stipulates that 37 voting MPs form a quorum.