Swapo takes responsibility for delayed midterm budget review due to absentee MPs

Swapo member of parliament (MP) Phillipus Katamelo says the party’s lawmakers, as the majority, should have attended the National Assembly’s midterm budget review yesterday.

The failure of National Assembly MPs to show up for the review led to it being postponed. This is because the National Assembly requires 49 voting members to be in attendance for the review, to be tabled by finance and public enterprise minister Iipumbu Shiimi.

Shiimi is expected to try to once again table the mid-term budget review today.

Katamelo, who is also the chairperson of the parliamentary budget committee, told The Namibian the opposition parties cannot constitute the required quorum by themselves, but Swapo can.

“They are only 33 [which] cannot constitute a quorum,” he said.

Katamelo said Swapo has 63 seats and the National Assembly’s working quorum requirement need 49 MPs.

He said the opposition has the right to blame the ruling party.

“I think they’ve got a legitimate point,” the lawmaker said.

He highlighted that elections and campaigns aren’t substantive reasons to miss the mid-term budget review.

“Whether it’s election year, whether it’s not election year, the principal matter is that we are entrusted with the noble responsibility to take charge of the affairs of the country, regardless of the circumstances.”

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) chief whip Utaara Mootu yesterday said the poor attendance of the ruling party shows the lack of seriousness with which they consider the review.

“We have seen that once they announced the Swapo list, they are not coming to parliament,” she said.

She described the MPs’ failure to be in attendance as a lack of patriotism.

“They only care about their own bellies. This is the politics of the belly and you see it right here,” Mootu added.
Mootu, however, was the only representative of LPM in attendance.

Meanwhile, Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters deputy leader Kalimbo Iipumbu described the adjournment as embarrassing.

“Seriously, these people! The regime is busy at work. [It’s a] mockery,” he said.

Iipumbu called on citizens to take the absent lawmakers to task.

“Theirs is to make sure that they are out there campaigning. But the real matters that are affecting the lives of the people, are not being taken care of,” he said.

National Unity Democratic Organisation president Esther Muinjangue yesterday highlighted the importance of the review and described the postponement as unfortunate.

“It is unfortunate that we could not form a quorum today. This week is very important, because the mid-term budget is something that we need to complete because otherwise the state machinery will come to a standstill,” she said.

Swapo youth league secretary Ephraim Nekongo, however, yesterday said a postponement doesn’t mean the budget review will not take place.

“You can see I’m here, so my fellow politicians are busy with their campaigns with other political parties, and so forth,” he added.