Govt called out on lack of consultation

The ‘My Constitution My Decision’ lobby group has called on the Namibian government to acknowledge that it made a mistake by not conducting wide consultations before it made far-reaching changes to the constitution recently. This follows the findings of the Afrobarometer public opinion survey, which found that 80% of the 1 200 Namibians questioned, said the controversial Third Constitutional Amendment Act was passed without adequate public consultation. The findings, which were released this week, also indicated that eight out of 10 people said constitution changes should be preceded by extensive public consultation. A key finding was that this view cut across party lines, with 55% of participants reporting they are “close” to Swapo. Yesterday the lobby group said the findings vindicated its position by demonstrating that the public was not consulted before the recent amendments. “In August, government rushed through a series of constitutional changes with virtually no consultation, apart from with a handful of political parties,” My Constitution My Decision said in a statement. “Prime Minister Hage Geingob responded by saying that Swapo had the mandate to change the constitution as it wished, by virtue of winning the previous election in 2009.” The Afrobarometer report further supported the view that consultations were both advisable and necessary. According to the lobby group, which is a coalition of civil society organisations and other organisations, although President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Geingob scored high approval ratings, it has been demonstrated that the electorate do not agree with every decision taken at that level. The coalition called on government to acknowledge that a mistake was made with the changes. The State has also been urged to recommit itself to following the highest standards of good governance, by publicly stating its belief in the principle of public consultations on constitutional changes. Among the most important changes was the creation of a vice-president post and increasing the size of the National Assembly from the current 72 elected seats to 96. The National Council seats were also increased to 42. Some of the 40 proposed changes were revised during parliamentary debates and following public pressure. WINDHOEK ELVIS MURARANGANDA