Kazenambo provides the NA with a reality TV moment

A WAR of words erupted between two Swapo MPs in the National Assembly on Tuesday after a Minister gave a younger colleague a dressing down for verbally “undressing” senior officials in the House.

Information Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah accused Deputy Regional Government and Housing Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo of a lack of respect for his elders, and advocated the need for dignified debate. The two crossed swords during debate on the decline in morality in Namibia.But the exchange did not end there.Whether it was a case of wanting to have the last word, or of offended sensibilities, was unclear, but Kazenambo was last seen in hot pursuit of the Minister as she headed for the car park.Nandi-Ndaitwah had referred to Kazenambo’s comments during debate last week, when he accused senior Government ministers of disrespecting each other in their capacity as Ministers and as Swapo members.Kazenambo inferred that members should toe the party line and not criticise or take issue with one another in public.”His presentation was very good, but when he spoke …when everybody up there [in the public and press galleries] is listening and he said some ministers …,” she said, pausing momentarily, as a pregnant silence hovered over the House, continuing “what message was this sending outside? This is uncalled for.As much as you think you are making a point, you must be careful about the way you say it.”Like a man stung by a scorpion, Kazenambo sprung to his feet and demanded that the Information Minister be more precise about the issue.”She should clarify about some ministers and the problems she was complaining about! She must clarify my name!” he shouted, only to be silenced by the harsh banging of the gavel as Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab restored order.The Speaker asked Nandi-Ndaitwah to continue.The Minister said the fact that the House was debating morality was a clear sign that there was a “total moral breakdown in Namibia, to which each and everybody contributed, even unknowingly”.The situation was too serious to engage in mudslinging or blame games, she cautioned, saying the root cause of eroding morality had to be found.”If traditional, political or community leaders are not leading by example, they can contribute to moral decay in society.I cannot come to any other conclusion but that we as parents and educators have failed in our duty to inculcate moral values in our children, but the most important is that we are not leading by example,” she said.”As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell aptly stated, we have two kinds of morality side by side: one we preach, but do not practice, and another we practice but seldom preach.””None of us are angels and the sooner we admit it, the sooner we shall be closer to a solution to the immoral behaviour in our midst,” she added.”As elected MPs the example we set is not always above criticism.”She had no problem with interjections during debates, the Minister said, but she did have with “the way we interject, talk about gossip and rumour and even call each other names”.In the African context, she said, culture and tradition dictated that leaders should be dignified.”Can we claim that our behaviour meets the accepted criteria of our nation?” she asked fellow MPs.”We, the lawmakers, should use this debate to seriously consider our behaviour in Parliament, the message we send out and the example we set for the nation – (and) if we conduct our business in a dignified manner – to earn the respect of the public.”Namibians were becoming “intellectually non-productive spending a lot of time on gossip and rumour mongering”, she bemoaned.”The result is, we are eroding what we have achieved since Independence.”The two crossed swords during debate on the decline in morality in Namibia.But the exchange did not end there.Whether it was a case of wanting to have the last word, or of offended sensibilities, was unclear, but Kazenambo was last seen in hot pursuit of the Minister as she headed for the car park.Nandi-Ndaitwah had referred to Kazenambo’s comments during debate last week, when he accused senior Government ministers of disrespecting each other in their capacity as Ministers and as Swapo members.Kazenambo inferred that members should toe the party line and not criticise or take issue with one another in public.”His presentation was very good, but when he spoke …when everybody up there [in the public and press galleries] is listening and he said some ministers …,” she said, pausing momentarily, as a pregnant silence hovered over the House, continuing “what message was this sending outside? This is uncalled for.As much as you think you are making a point, you must be careful about the way you say it.”Like a man stung by a scorpion, Kazenambo sprung to his feet and demanded that the Information Minister be more precise about the issue.”She should clarify about some ministers and the problems she was complaining about! She must clarify my name!” he shouted, only to be silenced by the harsh banging of the gavel as Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab restored order.The Speaker asked Nandi-Ndaitwah to continue.The Minister said the fact that the House was debating morality was a clear sign that there was a “total moral breakdown in Namibia, to which each and everybody contributed, even unknowingly”.The situation was too serious to engage in mudslinging or blame games, she cautioned, saying the root cause of eroding morality had to be found.”If traditional, political or community leaders are not leading by example, they can contribute to moral decay in society.I cannot come to any other conclusion but that we as parents and educators have failed in our duty to inculcate moral values in our children, but the most important is that we are not leading by example,” she said.”As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell aptly stated, we have two kinds of morality side by side: one we preach, but do not practice, and another we practice but seldom preach.””None of us are angels and the sooner we admit it, the sooner we shall be closer to a solution to the immoral behaviour in our midst,” she added.”As elected MPs the example we set is not always above criticism.”She had no problem with interjections during debates, the Minister said, but she did have with “the way we interject, talk about gossip and rumour and even call each other names”.In the African context, she said, culture and tradition dictated that leaders should be dignified.”Can we claim that our behaviour meets the accepted criteria of our nation?” she asked fellow MPs.”We, the lawmakers, should use this debate to seriously consider our behaviour in Parliament, the message we send out and the example we set for the nation – (and) if we conduct our business in a dignified manner – to earn the respect of the public.”Namibians were becoming “intellectually non-productive spending a lot of time on gossip and rumour mongering”, she bemoaned.”The result is, we are eroding what we have achieved since Independence.”