The Office of the Speaker has dismissed claims that National Assembly speaker Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is responsible for the growing backlog of unanswered parliamentary questions.
It says the delays lie with the executive rather than the presiding officer.
The response follows allegations by some members of parliament (MPs) that the speaker’s rulings have contributed to the increasing number of unanswered questions in the august House.
The office says 550 National Assembly questions have been tabled since the start of the eighth parliament.
Of these, one question was withdrawn to allow the responsible minister to deliver a ministerial statement, while 166 have been disposed of.
“The speaker’s conduct is guided by the standing rules, orders and internal arrangements of the National Assembly, which require questions to take precedence every Thursday,” the office says.
It says Rule 119(2) gives priority to oral questions over other matters on Thursdays and that this provision has consistently been observed.
“The speaker has afforded all MPs equal opportunities to ask questions and participate in debates without regard to political affiliation,” the response says.
The office says responsibility for answering parliamentary questions rests with the relevant members of the executive, not the speaker.
It adds that Rule 117 allows notices of questions on every ordinary sitting day, meaning new questions are continuously added and contribute to the backlog.
“The backlog in answering questions has nothing to do with the speaker,” the office says.
It adds that the assembly may, with a 75% majority, suspend its rules to allocate more time for answering questions or urgent matters if members choose to do so.
Meanwhile, Independent Patriots for Change chief whip Rodrick Likando says the number of questions dealt with on Thursdays depends on the presiding officer.
“If [Phillipus] Katamelo presides we can cover up to 10 questions, but when Kuugongelwa-Amadhila presides we can only cover five because she prolongs her rulings and interjects more often,” he says.
Likando says the growing backlog is not caused by opposition MPs asking too many questions, but by ministers failing to attend parliamentary sittings.
He cites last Thursday when some ministers were absent because they attended donation events despite Thursdays being reserved for ministers to answer questions.
“We as opposition do our jobs Tuesday and Wednesday, but the executive is not doing its job.
Questions directed to ministers are sometimes answered by deputy ministers, who do not always address all the issues, and some questions are deferred,” he says.
Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda also blames the growing backlog on ministers’ absence.
He says ministers frequently postpone answering questions, claiming they are not adequately prepared.
“The minister of health and social services, Esperance Luvindao, is perennially absent despite having urgent pending questions.
One such question concerns the death of a young Namibian man at Otjiwarongo Hospital,” Kaaronda says.
