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EDITORIAL: Speaker Katjavivi must introspect

Cindy Van Wyk
In his well-renowned published article titled Roman Law and Its Influence in America, American attorney Gerald J. McGinley rightfully stated: “Laws are not the result of spontaneous action, but they are accumulated through the course of time to meet the demands of the people to whom they apply; they are affected by the industry of a country, and by the political, social and religious belief of the law-makers”.

This excerpt comes in handy when one observes the decaying state our National Assembly finds itself in.

More so, it comes in even more handy when taxpayers make a determination as to whether they are getting any return on investment and whether their aspirations when it comes to lawmaking are being met.

Many would agree that the events of 15 April 2021, on the day of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), cannot be viewed in isolation but rather as a culmination of events which reached a climax.

While the opposition parties have been blamed by the secretariat for rowdy – and even violent – behaviour in the August House, the biased, iron-fisted leadership style of Speaker Peter Katjavivi has long cultivated what eventually transpired.

Opposition parties have since the start of this current parliament red-flagged Katjavivi’s behaviour as what created a volatile parliamentary atmosphere because of his perceived bias.

What took place on SONA day was the explosion of a bomb that had been ticking inside the chests of the opposition MPs for a long time.

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Namibian Sun 2024-04-27

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Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 4 Manchester City | Manchester United 4 vs 2 Sheffield United | Everton 2 vs 0 Liverpool | Crystal Palace 2 vs 0 Newcastle | Wolves 0 vs 1 Bournemouth LaLiga: Real Sociedad 0 vs 1 Real Madrid SerieA: Frosinone 3 vs 0 Salernitana | Udinese 1 vs 2 AS Roma European Championships Qualifying: Queens Park Rangers 4 vs 0 Leeds United | Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: Queens Park Rangers 4 vs 0 Leeds United | Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City Katima Mulilo: 16° | 31° Rundu: 20° | 32° Eenhana: 17° | 33° Oshakati: 19° | 33° Ruacana: 16° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 17° | 30° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 16° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 17° | 25° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:03, High tide: 05:02, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:32 Swakopmund: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:01, High tide: 05:00, Low Tide: 23:12, High tide: 17:30 Walvis Bay: 18° | 29° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:01, High tide: 04:59, Low Tide: 23:12, High tide: 17:29 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 21° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 33° Aranos: 18° | 31° Lüderitz: 16° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 22° | 33° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 25° | 30° Gaborone: 15° | 26° Lubumbashi: 11° | 24° Mbabane: 11° | 20° Maseru: 10° | 23° Antananarivo: 15° | 24° Lilongwe: 13° | 24° Maputo: 17° | 26° Windhoek: 16° | 28° Cape Town: 16° | 23° Durban: 15° | 24° Johannesburg: 14° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 30° Lusaka: 15° | 25° Harare: 12° | 24° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.1 | CNY to NAD 2.59 | USD to NAD 18.8 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.32 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.66 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.79 | USD to EGP 47.85 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1329.44 | USD to ZAR 18.78 | USD to ZMW 26.5 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75370.99 Up +1.40% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1673.12 Up +1.85% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13354.97 Up +0.06% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25917.59 Down -3.21% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9142.54 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$ 2 338.05/OZ UP +0.31% | Copper US$ 4.54/lb UP +0.71% | Zinc US$ 2 869.50/T UP 0.15% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 88.96/BBP UP +0.08% | Platinum US$ 913.47/OZ DOWN -0.0026 Sport results: Premier League: Brighton 0 vs 4 Manchester City | Manchester United 4 vs 2 Sheffield United | Everton 2 vs 0 Liverpool | Crystal Palace 2 vs 0 Newcastle | Wolves 0 vs 1 Bournemouth LaLiga: Real Sociedad 0 vs 1 Real Madrid SerieA: Frosinone 3 vs 0 Salernitana | Udinese 1 vs 2 AS Roma European Championships Qualifying: Queens Park Rangers 4 vs 0 Leeds United | Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City English Championship: Queens Park Rangers 4 vs 0 Leeds United | Coventry City 2 vs 3 Hull City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 16° | 31° Rundu: 20° | 32° Eenhana: 17° | 33° Oshakati: 19° | 33° Ruacana: 16° | 33° Tsumeb: 17° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 17° | 30° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 16° | 28° Gobabis: 17° | 28° Henties Bay: 17° | 25° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:03, High tide: 05:02, Low Tide: 23:14, High tide: 17:32 Swakopmund: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:01, High tide: 05:00, Low Tide: 23:12, High tide: 17:30 Walvis Bay: 18° | 29° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:01, High tide: 04:59, Low Tide: 23:12, High tide: 17:29 Rehoboth: 18° | 29° Mariental: 21° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 22° | 33° Aranos: 18° | 31° Lüderitz: 16° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 22° | 33° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 25° | 30° Gaborone: 15° | 26° Lubumbashi: 11° | 24° Mbabane: 11° | 20° Maseru: 10° | 23° Antananarivo: 15° | 24° Lilongwe: 13° | 24° Maputo: 17° | 26° Windhoek: 16° | 28° Cape Town: 16° | 23° Durban: 15° | 24° Johannesburg: 14° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 30° Lusaka: 15° | 25° Harare: 12° | 24° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.1 | CNY to NAD 2.59 | USD to NAD 18.8 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.32 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.7 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.66 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.79 | USD to EGP 47.85 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1329.44 | USD to ZAR 18.78 | USD to ZMW 26.5 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75370.99 Up +1.40% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1673.12 Up +1.85% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13354.97 Up +0.06% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25917.59 Down -3.21% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9142.54 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$ 2 338.05/OZ UP +0.31% | Copper US$ 4.54/lb UP +0.71% | Zinc US$ 2 869.50/T UP 0.15% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 88.96/BBP UP +0.08% | Platinum US$ 913.47/OZ DOWN -0.0026