The ‘Silly’ Question

THE silly season seemed to set in during the final pre-election sessions of both houses of parliament.

A number of pieces of legislation which needed tempered consideration were passed without crucial issues being adequately debated. Most notable in this respect was the new Criminal Procedure Bill.Added to this, discussion on the Presidential pay package often degenerated into farce.Accusations by Swapo MP Johny Hakaye this week that opposition MPs were asking “silly questions such as how much the President earns per month” – he claimed that they knew very well what the President’s salary was – couldn’t have been further off the mark.Even more off the mark was a comment earlier this month by Justice Minister Albert Kawana who, in referring to the package, said: “Our sitting President spent nearly 30 years in exile fighting for this very fundamental right.”We are sure that that was the last thing on President Sam Nujoma’s mind when he and other Namibians were waging the liberation struggle.President Nujoma should be given an adequate retirement package – no one disputes that.But, as we have said before, it should be a package in keeping with what the country can afford.However, the fact that the legislation facilitating the package was passed without any indication of the final cost to the taxpayers remains of deep concern.Instead of leaving the nation confident that its elected representatives were acting in the best interests of the President and Namibians, Minister Kawana and ruling party MPs succeeded only in creating more question marks around the package.Instead of the process being conducted with transparency and accountability, we are left wondering why so much secrecy surrounds the cost of the package, and why the Minister and ruling party MPs were so reluctant to divulge the details to the nation.Was it a case of some merely wanting to curry favour with President Nujoma, whose influence is likely to felt for a considerable tie to come? Was it because the estimated final cost of the exit package would be too embarrassing? We don’t know.Asking for details on the presidential pay package is far from silly, as Hakaye said.Asking for details is also not “scandalous”, as Minister Kawana said.It is necessary.We live in a democracy.What is scandalous was the reluctance to play open cards on the issue.At the end of the day parliament should be answerable to the people.In this case it has not been.The people deserve better.The NBC Must Get Its Ducks In A Row THE Namibian Broadcasting Corporation came under fire this week from the South West African National Union (Swanu) because of what it perceives as the unfair allocation of airtime to parties taking part in the upcoming elections.In the process of Swanu launching a legal challenge, it emerged that the national broadcaster had misled the public when it said it was guided by the Communications Act in the way it treated various parties.In countering the challenge, the NBC lawyers said that in fact the broadcaster had used its own discretion.This newspaper reported on the issue and, as is common journalistic practice, approached the NBC for comment.They declined.They subsequently used their 8 o’ clock news to accuse The Namibian of being unethical for not printing comment from them! To say the least, this displays a casual acquaintance with the truth.An apology is in order.Most notable in this respect was the new Criminal Procedure Bill.Added to this, discussion on the Presidential pay package often degenerated into farce.Accusations by Swapo MP Johny Hakaye this week that opposition MPs were asking “silly questions such as how much the President earns per month” – he claimed that they knew very well what the President’s salary was – couldn’t have been further off the mark.Even more off the mark was a comment earlier this month by Justice Minister Albert Kawana who, in referring to the package, said: “Our sitting President spent nearly 30 years in exile fighting for this very fundamental right.” We are sure that that was the last thing on President Sam Nujoma’s mind when he and other Namibians were waging the liberation struggle.President Nujoma should be given an adequate retirement package – no one disputes that.But, as we have said before, it should be a package in keeping with what the country can afford.However, the fact that the legislation facilitating the package was passed without any indication of the final cost to the taxpayers remains of deep concern.Instead of leaving the nation confident that its elected representatives were acting in the best interests of the President and Namibians, Minister Kawana and ruling party MPs succeeded only in creating more question marks around the package.Instead of the process being conducted with transparency and accountability, we are left wondering why so much secrecy surrounds the cost of the package, and why the Minister and ruling party MPs were so reluctant to divulge the details to the nation.Was it a case of some merely wanting to curry favour with President Nujoma, whose influence is likely to felt for a considerable tie to come? Was it because the estimated final cost of the exit package would be too embarrassing? We don’t know.Asking for details on the presidential pay package is far from silly, as Hakaye said.Asking for details is also not “scandalous”, as Minister Kawana said.It is necessary.We live in a democracy.What is scandalous was the reluctance to play open cards on the issue.At the end of the day parliament should be answerable to the people.In this case it has not been.The people deserve better. The NBC Must Get Its Ducks In A Row THE Namibian Broadcasting Corporation came under fire this week from the South West African National Union (Swanu) because of what it perceives as the unfair allocation of airtime to parties taking part in the upcoming elections.In the process of Swanu launching a legal challenge, it emerged that the national broadcaster had misled the public when it said it was guided by the Communications Act in the way it treated various parties.In countering the challenge, the NBC lawyers said that in fact the broadcaster had used its own discretion.This newspaper reported on the issue and, as is common journalistic practice, approached the NBC for comment.They declined.They subsequently used their 8 o’ clock news to accuse The Namibian of being unethical for not printing comment from them! To say the least, this displays a casual acquaintance with the truth.An apology is in order.