Curtain falls on National Assembly after passing 156 bills

The term of Namibia’s seventh National Assembly came to an end yesterday, after a five-year period in which 156 bills were passed.

The number of bills passed varied, ranging from 23 in 2023 to three bills in 2020, when the lockdown in response to Covid-19 saw parliament’s activities suspended. In the last year, 19 bills were passed.

Speaker of National Assembly Peter Katjavivi, who is retiring, described the journey as a difficult one as he often had to make unpleasant decisions.

“I want to apologise if I have ever offended anyone of you. But what I did was simply for the sake of the house, to keep it in order so we do the intended duties we were supposed to do,” he said during the final parliamentary session yesterday.

Katjavivi is set to hand over a report to his successor as he steps down, and urged incoming parliamentarians to maintain the peace and democracy of the country and serve the nation to the best of their abilities.

The swearing in of new parliamentarians will take place today, as well as the election of the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

Deputy prime minister John Mutorwa urged incoming parliamentarians to be humble and learn from their mistakes.

“Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are stepping stones. Be willing to learn. I have made many mistakes and I have been corrected, which made me a better member [of parliament] and person,” he said.

He reminded the incoming members of parliament to carry themselves in accordance with the Constitution.

Other outgoing members commended their peers for the resilience and hard work required to pass various laws during their term.

However, political analyst Sacky Johannes stated that while many of the bills passed were necessary to replace outdated laws and improve the lives of Namibians, some bills seem to have been passed to favour outgoing parliamentarians.