Parliament set to move?

NAMIBIA might soon have a brand new Parliament building outside Windhoek, as well as a single-chamber Parliament, the Speaker of the National Assembly has indicated.

Introducing the budget vote for the National Assembly and National Council on Monday, Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab said: ‘We will make a decision at the appropriate level for a National Assembly to built to stand the test of time just outside of Windhoek. ‘It would be good to be a one-chamber Parliament when we build it. This (single chamber) would mean an amendment to the Namibian Constitution,’ the Speaker added, but he did not go into detail. A few years ago, there was a proposal to abolish the 26-member National Council, which is the House of Review, and enlarge the National Assembly from 78 to 100 members. However, Cabinet shelved the plan at the time, saying that it was premature.Other issues debated on Monday night included a request by CoD Member Elma Dienda to allow MPs to speak in languages other than English in Parliament.’We will look into that, to maybe identify three or four of the most spoken languages,’ Gurirab responded. He said for the time being MPs could speak the language of their choice in the House, but would have to bring along their own interpreters.MPs further requested to upgrade the Parliamentary Library and its services and to reintroduce computer-literacy courses for Members. Dienda noted that in the new budget for the National Assembly, N$297 000 was earmarked for new furniture. ‘Will this mean new furniture for the offices of Members as well? We often have visitors and they see our shabby furniture,’ she added. Dienda further questioned the N$850 000 annual membership fee paid to the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which is housed in Windhoek.’The SADC PF used to be more active and it organised observer missions for elections in our region, but all these activities have gone down considerably,’ she said, questioning the high membership fee paid to it. In the new budget, political parties represented in the National Assembly will receive more funding due to the national and presidential elections in November.N$24,8 million would go to the parties, about N$7,2 million more than the previous financial year, when parties received about N$17,6 in total. The funding will be allocated per elected seat – approximately N$345,597 per seat – and there are 72 elected seats in the House.Swapo, which has 55 elected seats, will receive about N$19 million, while the official opposition party CoD with five seats will receive approximately N$1,72 million, followed by the DTA (four seats) with N$1,38 million, while Nudo and UDF will receive about N$1,03 million. The Monitor Action Group (MAG) and the Republican Party (RP) each has one seat and will receive N$345 597 each.The total budget for the National Assembly is N$109,7 million of which N$97 will go to operational coss, including salaries of staff and the Members of Parliament and N$12,5 million to development projects like information technology and the library. The annual session of the Children’s Parliament which was introduced two years ago and which lasts about six days, will cost N$4,6 million this year.The National Council will receive N$45 million this year. brigitte@namibian.com.na