PLANNING STAGE: The National Assembly is working on establishing a Parliamentary Commission.
PLANNING STAGE: The National Assembly is working on establishing a Parliamentary Commission.

Parliamentary commission in the works

Ogone Tlhage
Namibia is set to establish a Parliamentary Service Commission during the seventh session of parliament which will “help streamline the recruitment of staff that support Namibia’s two houses of parliament”.

The establishment of the commission is contained in the National Assembly strategic plan 2023 to 2027, which outlines various interventions that are in the works to improve the work of parliament.

Outlining the rationale behind the commission, the strategic document said it was a constitutional requirement that it be established.

“A Parliamentary Service Commission is important for Namibia’s two houses of parliament because it can equitably streamline the recruitment of professional staff, enforce staff disciplinary action, and promote and transfer staff.

“Indeed, it is a requirement of the Namibian Constitution that such a commission be created,” the National Assembly said in its strategic plan.

The commission would be established via increased collaboration between the National Assembly, National Council and key stakeholders.

“In line with austerity measures aimed at reducing government spending and maintaining the public servant wage bill, and cognisant of the prevailing poor economic performance which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the National Assembly will collaborate with the National Council and other key stakeholders to establish a cost-effective Parliamentary Service Commission,” it said.

Resource mobilisation

Attention would also be given to increased resource mobilisation activities, to ensure that the National Assembly successfully implements its strategic plan.

“Resources are critical for implementing the National Assembly strategic plan. Mobilising adequate funds to meet the stated strategic objectives is therefore essential. It should be borne in mind that resource mobilisation is not solely about securing additional resources, but also about taking prudent measures to optimally utilise those that are already available,” the National Assembly said.

Resource mobilisation would also be met with increased scrutiny and proper management of public funds.

“The National Assembly is one of several public institutions competing for scarce public funds for its activities and programmes. The National Assembly therefore not only commits itself to using these resources prudently, but also prioritises its projects and activities to achieve maximum benefit from such funding,” it said.

“Besides Namibian taxpayers’ money, other sources of funding include financial assistance from development partners. These funds will also be mobilised systematically for optimal benefit during implementation.”

The National Assembly will review and develop its committees’ rules of procedure to ensure that they remain effective, comprehensible, unambiguous and fit-for-purpose for the smooth running of committee business, it said.

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Namibian Sun 2024-05-15

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Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool | Manchester United 0 vs 1 Arsenal LaLiga: Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada | Girona 0 vs 1 Villarreal | Real Madrid 5 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Osasuna 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Real Betis 3 vs 2 Almería | Valencia 0 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Atletico Madrid 1 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Cadiz 1 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese | Atalanta 2 vs 1 AS Roma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Salernitana | Genoa 2 vs 1 Sassuolo | Hellas Verona 1 vs 2 Torino | SS Lazio 2 vs 0 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United Katima Mulilo: 12° | 30° Rundu: 11° | 29° Eenhana: 14° | 31° Oshakati: 14° | 30° Ruacana: 14° | 30° Tsumeb: 14° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 11° | 26° Omaruru: 14° | 29° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Gobabis: 14° | 25° Henties Bay: 19° | 34° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 03:18, High tide: 09:17, Low Tide: 15:19, High tide: 22:12 Swakopmund: 19° | 26° Wind speed: 20km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:16, High tide: 09:15, Low Tide: 15:17, High tide: 22:10 Walvis Bay: 23° | 35° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:16, High tide: 09:14, Low Tide: 15:17, High tide: 22:09 Rehoboth: 13° | 26° Mariental: 16° | 28° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 28° Aranos: 15° | 28° Lüderitz: 20° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 16° | 29° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 15° | 28° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 13° | 25° Maseru: 10° | 25° Antananarivo: 14° | 22° Lilongwe: 14° | 27° Maputo: 17° | 28° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Cape Town: 15° | 22° Durban: 17° | 25° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 15° | 25° Harare: 12° | 25° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.12 | EUR to NAD 19.87 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.27 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.72 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.58 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.2 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 46.78 | USD to KES 129.98 | USD to NGN 1519 | USD to ZAR 18.27 | USD to ZMW 25.05 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 78632.56 Down -0.07% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1710.9 Down -2.52% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13421.4 Down -0.59% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25316.08 Down -0.09% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 387.27/OZ UP +1.33% | Copper US$ 4.89/lb UP +0.18% | Zinc US$ 2 996.80/T UP 0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.33/BBP UP +0.19% | Platinum US$ 1 065.39/OZ UP +2.07% Sport results: Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool | Manchester United 0 vs 1 Arsenal LaLiga: Sevilla 0 vs 1 Cadiz | Rayo Vallecano 2 vs 1 Granada | Girona 0 vs 1 Villarreal | Real Madrid 5 vs 0 Deportivo Alaves | Osasuna 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Real Betis 3 vs 2 Almería | Valencia 0 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Atletico Madrid 1 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Cadiz 1 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese | Atalanta 2 vs 1 AS Roma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Salernitana | Genoa 2 vs 1 Sassuolo | Hellas Verona 1 vs 2 Torino | SS Lazio 2 vs 0 Empoli European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United Weather: Katima Mulilo: 12° | 30° Rundu: 11° | 29° Eenhana: 14° | 31° Oshakati: 14° | 30° Ruacana: 14° | 30° Tsumeb: 14° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 11° | 26° Omaruru: 14° | 29° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Gobabis: 14° | 25° Henties Bay: 19° | 34° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SE, Low tide: 03:18, High tide: 09:17, Low Tide: 15:19, High tide: 22:12 Swakopmund: 19° | 26° Wind speed: 20km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:16, High tide: 09:15, Low Tide: 15:17, High tide: 22:10 Walvis Bay: 23° | 35° Wind speed: 25km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:16, High tide: 09:14, Low Tide: 15:17, High tide: 22:09 Rehoboth: 13° | 26° Mariental: 16° | 28° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 28° Aranos: 15° | 28° Lüderitz: 20° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 16° | 29° Luanda: 24° | 28° Gaborone: 15° | 28° Lubumbashi: 11° | 27° Mbabane: 13° | 25° Maseru: 10° | 25° Antananarivo: 14° | 22° Lilongwe: 14° | 27° Maputo: 17° | 28° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Cape Town: 15° | 22° Durban: 17° | 25° Johannesburg: 15° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 15° | 25° Harare: 12° | 25° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.12 | EUR to NAD 19.87 | CNY to NAD 2.53 | USD to NAD 18.27 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.72 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.58 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.2 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 46.78 | USD to KES 129.98 | USD to NGN 1519 | USD to ZAR 18.27 | USD to ZMW 25.05 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 78632.56 Down -0.07% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1710.9 Down -2.52% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13421.4 Down -0.59% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25316.08 Down -0.09% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 387.27/OZ UP +1.33% | Copper US$ 4.89/lb UP +0.18% | Zinc US$ 2 996.80/T UP 0.23% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 83.33/BBP UP +0.19% | Platinum US$ 1 065.39/OZ UP +2.07%