Entitled honourables
Entitled honourables

Entitled honourables

A deputy minister has called for an exclusive gym for MPs, while retired Bishop Zephania Kameeta feels the time is right for a new parliament building.
Jemima Beukes
JEMIMA BEUKES



Labour deputy minister Tommy Nambahu has revived debate about a new parliament building, saying a gymnasium must be built for parliamentarians because the existing public facilities are not safe for them.

Contributing to the National Assembly budget debate, Nambahu said MPs cannot exercise in an “unpredictable” environment, saying their wellbeing must be considered.

“The point is that you are an honourable. When you are saying something that does not please a person and you are under your things pushing up (sic) are you not more vulnerable there? You do not know who the people are there; you do not know the premises. You do not know what is what,” said Nambaha to the chagrin of opposition members seated in the opposite direction.

Nambahu’s suggestion was immediately shot down by PDM parliamentarians who questioned his entitlement mentality.

The PDM’s Elma Dienda angrily said the MPs should not focus on themselves but on the “women and children that are raped and killed in the streets on a daily basis”, while his fellow MP Vipuakuje Muharukua asked Nambahu to sign up for a public gym facility “like the rest of the nation”.

Poverty eradication minister Zephania Kameeta also entered the fray by suggesting that the current parliament had become uninhabitable and the time was right for a new structure. \

Kameeta, who is a former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, also proposed that the Tintenpalast, which is the building housing both the National Assembly and National Council chambers, be turned into a vocational training centre for young people.

Kameeta said MPs of both houses were packed in the National Assembly chambers for a good three hours when President Hage Geingob presented his State of the Nation Address.

“If someone shouted it was an emergency and shouted ‘fire’, there would have been a lot of injuries as people scrambled to get out of the building,” he said.

Plans to construct a new parliament building at a cost of over N$700 million, which would include about 400 offices, living quarters as well as a wellness centre and a gym, were first entertained in 2014, sparking outrage and condemnation from members of the public and some members of the opposition.

More than a year later, Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi told Namibian Sun in an exclusive interview that government was planning a state-of-the-art parliament building in the shape of the national plant, the Welwitschia mirabilis.

In 2014, the former secretary to the National Assembly, Jakes Jacobs, said a feasibility study commissioned by parliament showed that the cost had ballooned to N$700 million from an earlier figure of N$127 million.

That sparked much criticism from the Namibian public, who demanded that the government spend the money on social upliftment instead.

Protesters also urged the government to rather build new hospitals and clinics in order to revitalise the struggling public healthcare system.

Shortly after that a team of private quantity surveyors and civil engineers was appointed to get the construction of the new parliament building off the ground.

A total of N$500 000 was set aside in the 2012/13 financial year for the feasibility study, as well as for the drawing and approval of architectural plans.

Young activists under the banner of the Affirmative Repositioning Movement also staged a march in June 2016 to protest against the idea.

By 2016 the government had already spent N$20 million on professional fees for preparatory work on the proposed new parliament.

Despite the outcry a parliamentary committee dominated by ruling party members went ahead and endorsed the plan to construct a new parliament.

President Hage Geingob had in the past dodged responsibility and in 2016 told lawmakers that his hands were tied insofar as the new parliament building was concerned. He further advised MPs to determine the way forward.

Budget

Meanwhile, Katjavivi said for the 2017/2018 financial year the National Assembly was allocated an amount of N$110 million for operational expenditure and N$24 million for the development budget, which was specifically earmarked for ‘Upgrading and Renovation of the Parliament Building’.

Due to the economic crisis, N$10 million was cut from the development budget and returned to treasury. For the current financial year, the National Assembly received N$112 million for operational purposes; while a mere N$5 million has been budgeted for the development budget. With government enduring financial troubles at the moment, it remains unclear as to whether plans to construct a new parliament building will be realised in the coming years.

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Namibian Sun 2024-03-28

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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$ 2 212.07/OZ UP +0.97% | Copper US$ 3.98/lb DOWN -0.0008 | Zinc US$ 2 446.40/T DOWN -0.41% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 86.78/BBP UP +0.45% | Platinum US$ 898.23/OZ UP +0.37%