Katjavivi asks Shiimi to reconsider NA budget
Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi has appealed to the finance minister to relook the budgetary allocation of the NA, which has been slashed by close to N$11 million from the 2020/21 financial year.
Katjavivi made the appeal in the NA on Tuesday while presenting the N$117.1 million National Assembly budget allocation for the 2021/22 financial year.
He said the allocated amount limits their capacity to carry out their constitutional mandate, as they are entrusted to do by the Namibian people.
“If we are to fully appreciate and realise the principle of participatory democracy in the law-making process and the oversight role of the NA; we need to adequately finance its activities,” Katjavivi said, adding that while cognisant of the harsh economic conditions, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the constitutional mandate of the National Assembly remains crucial to the functioning of democracy.
He said the allocated budget will mainly be used for oversight functions; continuous digitisation and modernisation of the required parliamentary systems to enhance democracy
through e-parliament; provision of administrative and legal services to the institution, continuous maintenance of the parliamentary infrastructure and security upgrades.
Breaking it down, he said policy coordination and support services is allocated 91% of the budget, which is about N$106.6 million, while legislative management, which drives the NA legislative agenda and provides support services to the presiding officers is allocated N$10.5 million.
Katjavivi on the same day also presented the N$88.3 million budget for the National Council which has also been slashed by N$12.8 million from last year.
Breaking down the allocation, Katjavivi said the parliamentary committees’ services will receive the largest chunk of N$51.5 million.
He explained that the standing committees are the workhorses of the House because most of the detailed examination and scrutiny of government programmes, as outlined in the Mid-Term Expenditure Framework, is taking place in committees.
“It is important that council members are prepared for this critical legislative function in the first year of their parliamentary career. In this regard, capacity building interventions will focus on laying a solid knowledge base to enable members to review legislation and execute oversight work optimally,” Katjivivi noted.
Coordination of Parliamentary Support Services will receive N$27.9 million, while N$8.8 million will be used to strengthen the capacity of the review and oversight function of the National Council.