Open letter on how we can improve Namibia (Part 1)

DR. ABISAI SHEJAVALI WRITES:Dear Hon. Professor KatjaviviGreetings to you in the Name of God.I have been observing with keen interest the numerous progressive developments that we, as a nation, have attained since our independence from oppression in 1990 and of course, I have expressed my concerns in areas where we have missed the mark.The purpose for writing this open letter is to initiate a national dialogue that explores possible amendments to the Namibian Constitution that may include the addition and/or removal of certain provisions. I am of the view that such amendments would make the Supreme Law even more conducive to the development of Namibia and to the well being of its people. I specifically address this letter to you as I am aware that such dialogue would best be handled through your distinguished responsibilities as a representative of “the National Assembly in all its powers, functions and dignity within and outside the Chamber”.I have a few ideas which could be further refined in accordance with the applicable parliamentary processes.APPOINTMENT OF THE CABINETIt is undeniable that sections of our society through numerous fora and media have been complaining about maladministration by cabinet ministers viz. low performance on their scorecards, corruption, nepotism, self-enrichment, and the betrayal of true patriotism.I am of the view that this is due to how certain provisions of the Constitution have been drafted to prescribe how the president appoints his Cabinet from amongst members of parliament. We see instances such as the most recent reshuffle, where the president himself raised concerns about allegations of corruption against some in his Cabinet, yet he kept those accused in charge of ministries.In this regard, I believe that parliament - through necessary processes - should take the opportunity to amend the Constitution to empower the President to appoint Cabinet ministers from beyond the cohort of parliamentarians. This proposal is intended to allow the president access to a wider pool of technocrats and professionals who would be selected on the basis of their expertise, report directly to the President and also be answerable to the people through parliament and its sub committees.In practice, the President would function as the nominating authority, however before appointment, the nominated individual would be subject to appropriate screening and approval by parliamentary committees. Appointees should and must be people of high calibre and good standing, who are eager and inspired to put our national interests at the fore.SEPERATION OF POWERSIn continuing the thought process above, I have observed inconsistencies in fulfilment of the “Spirit of Separation of Powers” between the executive and the legislature. Cabinet ministers (executive) are at the same time members of parliament (legislature).If ministers are meant to be answerable to parliament, yet are themselves members of parliament, does this in essence mean they are answerable to themselves? Is this not in disagreement with the concept of accountability as the executive and the legislature are meant to be separate?Furthermore, it seems to me that ministries need ministers to be present on a full-time basis. I often wonder and find it hard to see how they can adequately fulfill their extremely busy ministerial duties and yet have to be present and engaged during parliament sessions. I can only speculate, but am concerned that either one or both of these roles are not being fulfilled with diligence.With the current state of affairs, parliament is conflicted and at times overruled when they summon ministers. In this proposal, parliament would be able to act independently to ensure delivery of services as they would have power to monitor and evaluate performance and at any time, call a minister to answer to questions on key issues related to their portfolio.COMPOSITION OF PARLIAMENT AND DECENTRALISATIONI also see a problem with the present composition of parliament.Members of our country’s parliament do not adequately represent the people in the country. Rather, they simply represent the parties on whose list they serve. People do not have much say in the matters concerning them.In this regard, the Constitution needs to be revisited so that our government may follow a more representative system that allows for grassroots perspectives to be highly considered. Furthermore, the concept of decentralisation - meant to enhance the decision-making power beyond central government - has largely been ignored, despite it being enshrined in the Constitution.Renewed attention needs to be placed on the modalities of how decentralisation is achieved, and where necessary, the Constitution needs to be modified to allow for the actualisation of government bodies in the regions to fully represent the local people.In addition, there is a dire need for parliament to socially conscientise people of their right to human dignity, with reference to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3201 (S-VI) “which is one of the principal guarantees for the creation of better conditions for all people to reach a life worthy of human dignity”.People have been left too long to dwell as victims of ignorance and fear, worshiping their party politicians, blind to matters concerning their wellbeing.HEALTH CAREI would also like to appeal to parliament to seriously look into the situation of our national health care, to explore laws that could be enacted leading to a National Health System such as introduced in United Kingdom (1948), Sweden (1955), Iceland (1956), Norway (1956), Denmark (1961), and Finland (1964) that provides health care and financial protection to all citizens”. Currently, we have a system in which quality healthcare is highly privatized and benefits only those who can afford medical aid.Medical aid is expensive! What I have also seen and experienced is that once one goes on retirement and thus no longer has a job, that medical aid falls away.What then happens to all the amounts one spent on medical aid for most of his/her working life? Amounts which, in many cases, may not have even been spent as such person and his/her family were generally in good health, save for the occasional visit to the GP to treat minor conditions such as flu's and colds or visits to the dentist, etc. The result is that the poor and old continue to be disadvantaged.As discussed above, this system needs to be relooked at so that a bigger pool of quality medical resources and professionals reaches all Namibians of every economic background.(The remainder of this contribution will be published in tomorrow's edition.)

Open letter on how we can improve Namibia (Part 1)

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Republikein 2025-08-04

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Open letter on how we can improve Namibia (Part 1)

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