EDITORIAL: Parliament must trade theatre for tangible progress

Parliament has returned from recess. The lights are back on, microphones dusted off, and leather chairs once again occupied. What Namibians now want is simple: action. Not performance. Not rehearsed outrage. Not the familiar choreography of political theatre designed for television soundbites.
Law-making is parliament’s primary assignment. Everything else is decoration.
Yet, nearly a year has passed without a single piece of legislation being finalised. That is not merely a delay. It is a collective indictment of those entrusted with shaping Namibia’s legal and economic future. If this paralysis stretches into next month, the country would have endured an entire legislative year without one law passed – a staggering failure in any functioning democracy.

While ordinary Namibians tighten their belts amid rising costs and economic uncertainty, members of parliament continue to loosen theirs, drawing generous salaries and benefits. The obvious question lingers in the national conscience: what exactly are taxpayers funding?
We are told that oil riches are imminent, that the country is on the verge of an economic awakening. Yet the petroleum (exploration and production) legislation, critical to regulating and safeguarding this sector, remains incomplete. 
The Land Bill, which could reshape access and ownership, continues to gather dust in legislative limbo. For thousands of Namibians, the promise of land reform remains little more than political rhetoric recycled at campaign rallies.Meanwhile, unemployment has ballooned to an alarming 37%. Every statistic represents households battling survival or young graduates wandering a desert of opportunity. Yet the revised Investment Promotion Bill, a potentially powerful tool to stimulate job creation and economic growth, continues its endless ping-pong match between committees, consultations and prolonged debates.
The time for political grandstanding is over. The era of speeches crafted for applause rather than progress must end. Now!