Mushelenga proposes access to information motion
Information minister Peya Mushelenga this week tabled a motion for a bill that would provide for the appointment of an independent and impartial information commissioner and a deputy to enforce the right of access to information.
While tabling the motion in the National Assembly, Mushelenga proposed that the House discusses and debates the possibility of appointing the pair that will be tasked with compelling government and public entities to provide information to the public, media practitioners and government officials upon request in order to promote and facilitate transparency, accountability and good governance.
“It will provide an opportunity for the internal review, appeal and judicial review of decisions. It will also provide an opportunity for information exempted from disclosure and incidental matters,” he said.
Meanwhile, deputy minister of health Esther Muinjangue also proposed that parliament discusses and recommends the creation of a government office, agency or commissioner who will deal with the issues of descendants of the victims of the 1904-1908 genocide for humanistic and historical reasons.
She said the Namibian people thought the new dispensation would bring about the healing of wounds and help everyone move on, but they were mistaken as is evident in the communities and amongst the descendants of the victims of the genocide. Therefore, the issue should be addressed with a new approach.
“Government established a ministry of veterans affairs, which deals with the matters of those who were involved in the 1966-1990 war of liberation which was fought by all Namibians, including the descendants of the victims of the 1904-08 genocide, even those who were born in the diaspora. At this juncture in our lives, it is undeniable that the issue of genocide is not only about reparations and apology, it is more than that - from healing emotional wounds to rewriting our own history,” stressed Muinjangue.