National Assembly takes month-long break

THE National Assembly went into recess on Thursday after sitting for just over a month.

The House is scheduled to reconvene on August 17. In the just-ended session, the House passed two bills – the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Amendment Bill and the Namibia Press Agency Amendment Bill.Amongst others, the VAT legislation will change the method of calculating interest on amounts overdue in respect of tax and penalties for failure to pay tax.Further, livestock and certain supplies for the disabled will now be qualified as zero-rated.The Minister of Information and Broadcasting tabled a Bill to allow for the diversification of Nampa’s products and to clearly spell out the duties of management and the board.The Bank of Namibia’s Amendment Bill returned to the chambers from the National Council last week for the House to agree to two small changes.Over the last month MPs discussed a number of reports, including one from a parliamentary standing committee on the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme.The annual report of the Ministry of Higher Education, the White Paper on Namibia’s Foreign Policy and the report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Accounts of Government for 1999 were also considered.Heated debate stemmed from a motion by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare that Namibia ratify the protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, to which the House eventually agreed.The next parliamentary sitting will last until mid-October, when the House will break to engage in election campaigns before returning for their final session of the year.In the just-ended session, the House passed two bills – the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Amendment Bill and the Namibia Press Agency Amendment Bill.Amongst others, the VAT legislation will change the method of calculating interest on amounts overdue in respect of tax and penalties for failure to pay tax.Further, livestock and certain supplies for the disabled will now be qualified as zero-rated.The Minister of Information and Broadcasting tabled a Bill to allow for the diversification of Nampa’s products and to clearly spell out the duties of management and the board.The Bank of Namibia’s Amendment Bill returned to the chambers from the National Council last week for the House to agree to two small changes.Over the last month MPs discussed a number of reports, including one from a parliamentary standing committee on the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme.The annual report of the Ministry of Higher Education, the White Paper on Namibia’s Foreign Policy and the report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Accounts of Government for 1999 were also considered.Heated debate stemmed from a motion by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare that Namibia ratify the protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, to which the House eventually agreed.The next parliamentary sitting will last until mid-October, when the House will break to engage in election campaigns before returning for their final session of the year.