Political Perspective

PERHAPS Namibia’s National Council has at last found its raison d’etre in the investigative realm, but first we’ll have to wait and see what it comes up with in terms of said ‘probe’ into the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and certain sections of the media, The Namibian and Windhoek Observer in particular.

This second chamber of parliament in our bicameral legislature has to date unfortunately had little identity of its own other than to act as a rubber-stamp for the work of the National Assembly, and if the current level of debate is anything to go by, then I truly wonder whether it serves any point at all in the national body politic. IT should have an important function, given that its members represent our regions, and one would have hoped that for this reason alone it would have brought greater depth to debate on issues of national importance, representing as it does different geographic areas.There has been discussion in the past as to whether the bicameral system is not too bureaucratic, costly and burdensome for a country like Namibia, especially given that the NC has no official function other than putting the stamp of approval on bills passed by Parliament or referring them back for further scrutiny.But its composition, unlike the National Assembly (made up in terms of the party list system) is regional and people have argued that it should therefore bring more grassroots-based issues and concerns to the fore.In short, it could, but it doesn’t, and the recent debates there, spearheaded by Swapo Party Chief Whip Jhonny Hakaye, leave one gasping for breath! So they, like all the other ‘wings’ of the ruling Party, either voluntarily or by coercion, have weighed into the debate on the question of the NSHR’s submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the side of former President Sam Nujoma.To the extent that Hakaye proposed a motion “to take a stand on the state, place and the role of the NSHR in a free and independent Namibia”.This matter has now been referred to a committee to ‘investigate’ the NSHR and while they’re at it, the favourite whipping boy of all, the media, The Namibian in particular.They are truly wasting the nation’s time and money, and worst of all, doing a severe disservice to their regions, their constituencies, who have socio-economic and developmental issues far more worthy of debate than the NSHR matter.We have agencies, in case they are not aware, with multi-million-dollar budgets ostensibly investigating and acting on issues pertaining to national security, and I personally doubt that the NSHR is one of them.The Swapo National Councillors come into their own only when the Swapo interest is touched in any way.And then they are full of fire and fervour! For once and for all, one would hope they realise that the ICC issue is not one of national security, and even the President himself is wrong to make it one.Let it simply take its course, and let the nation, and especially our parliament/s get on with the business of making the country work.The ICC motion, at the end of the day, is not about individuals like Phil ya Nangoloh.It’s a concern of a not insubstantial, nor insignificant, part of our nation – our nation, please note – whose attempts to get the issue resolved at national level have consistently fallen on deaf ears, for years on end.Hakaye may recall the recent motion in Parliament on the part of Kalla Gertze of the CoD to discuss the issue! But Swapo would have none of it, and swept it off the table.So if anyone is to blame for it going to the international stage in the form of the ICC submission and ’embarrassing’ our incumbent President at SADC level in the process, then it is Swapo itself! The media for their part are also simply doing their job.And fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side one is on, it also means reporting on the garbage that is oftentimes spouted from various sides of the political spectrum, the ruling party included, and not excluding the ‘Honourable’ Hakaye, as he calls himself.The ‘threats to national security’, and talk of ‘instability’ and ‘chaos’ and ‘civil war’ are all of Swapo’s own making or fabrication, or orchestration for that matter, and it’s their choice whether this happens or not, at the end of the day.Hakaye bemoans this newspaper’s SMS forum, but who, other than a reactionary, undemocratic-minded person, would find the people’s views anathema? If nothing else, they (the SMSes) go to show that the ‘nation’ he talks about as being solidly behind the anti-NSHR campaign is not quite as consensual in this matter as he might think! Instead of this time-wasting exercise, I am sure the people of this country would much prefer to see the National Council doing justice to its mandate and representing them at national level on all their developmental issues and concerns than threaten draconian measures against those who don’t necessarily share their views.IT should have an important function, given that its members represent our regions, and one would have hoped that for this reason alone it would have brought greater depth to debate on issues of national importance, representing as it does different geographic areas.There has been discussion in the past as to whether the bicameral system is not too bureaucratic, costly and burdensome for a country like Namibia, especially given that the NC has no official function other than putting the stamp of approval on bills passed by Parliament or referring them back for further scrutiny.But its composition, unlike the National Assembly (made up in terms of the party list system) is regional and people have argued that it should therefore bring more grassroots-based issues and concerns to the fore.In short, it could, but it doesn’t, and the recent debates there, spearheaded by Swapo Party Chief Whip Jhonny Hakaye, leave one gasping for breath! So they, like all the other ‘wings’ of the ruling Party, either voluntarily or by coercion, have weighed into the debate on the question of the NSHR’s submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the side of former President Sam Nujoma.To the extent that Hakaye proposed a motion “to take a stand on the state, place and the role of the NSHR in a free and independent Namibia”.This matter has now been referred to a committee to ‘investigate’ the NSHR and while they’re at it, the favourite whipping boy of all, the media, The Namibian in particular.They are truly wasting the nation’s time and money, and worst of all, doing a severe disservice to their regions, their constituencies, who have socio-economic and developmental issues far more worthy of debate than the NSHR matter.We have agencies, in case they are not aware, with multi-million-dollar budgets ostensibly investigating and acting on issues pertaining to national security, and I personally doubt that the NSHR is one of them.The Swapo National Councillors come into their own only when the Swapo interest is touched in any way.And then they are full of fire and fervour! For once and for all, one would hope they realise that the ICC issue is not one of national security, and even the President himself is wrong to make it one.Let it simply take its course, and let the nation, and especially our parliament/s get on with the business of making the country work.The ICC motion, at the end of the day, is not about individuals like Phil ya Nangoloh.It’s a concern of a not insubstantial, nor insignificant, part of our nation – our nation, please note – whose attempts to get the issue resolved at national level have consistently fallen on deaf ears, for years on end.Hakaye may recall the recent motion in Parliament on the part of Kalla Gertze of the CoD to discuss the issue! But Swapo would have none of it, and swept it off the table.So if anyone is to blame for it going to the international stage in the form of the ICC submission and ’embarrassing’ our incumbent President at SADC level in the process, then it is Swapo itself! The media for their part are also simply doing their job.And fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side one is on, it also means reporting on the garbage that is oftentimes spouted from various sides of the political spectrum, the ruling party included, and not excluding the ‘Honourable’ Hakaye, as he calls himself.The ‘threats to national security’, and talk of ‘instability’ and ‘chaos’ and ‘civil war’ are all of Swapo’s own making or fabrication, or orchestration for that matter, and it’s their choice whether this happens or not, at the end of the day.Hakaye bemoans this newspaper’s SMS forum, but who, other than a reactionary, undemocratic-minded person, would find the people’s views anathema? If nothing else, they (the SMSes) go to show that the ‘nation’ he talks about as being solidly behind the anti-NSHR campaign is not quite as consensual in this matter as he might think! Instead of this time-wasting exercise, I am sure the people of this country would much prefer to see the National Council doing justice to its mandate and representing them at national level on all their developmental issues and concerns than threaten draconian measures against those who don’t necessarily share their views.