National Assembly Secretary Lydia Kandetu has emphasised the importance of parliamentary staff ensuring that management decisions are issued speedily and that the public is updated regularly on parliamentary activities.
Kandetu was speaking at the opening of the ‘Enhancing Participatory Democracy in Namibia’ (EPDN) capacity building and training workshop for chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of standing committees as well as chief whips and deputy whips of political parties at Swakopmund on Monday.
The EPDN is a programme aimed at contributing to national development goals through the strengthening of collaboration and coordination between Parliament, civil society organisations and other government bodies in the implementation thereby enhancing participatory democracy in Namibia.
Kandetu said the five-day workshop aims to create a platform for the leadership of standing committees to navigate the challenges of managing the standing committees of Parliament and minimising conflict among Members of Parliament, among others, while also emphasising the important role chairpersons and deputy chairpersons play in the different committees they serve.
She added that the workshop) is designed to equip leaders of committees with knowledge on how to handle a broad range of issues that need their attention in the management of standing committees during scrutiny of bills and oversight of implementation and outcomes of public policies and programmes.
“It aims to further equip chairpersons with the know-how to obtain the best support for their oversight mandate from the secretariat, private sector agencies, as well as non-state actors including civil society organisations,” she said.
Participants, she highlighted, will work through modules such as the general dynamics of parliamentary committees, the legal and institutional framework of Parliament, the functions of the committee chairperson and independent parliamentary budget, among other topics.
“Some of the workshop’s expected outcomes include acquainting chairpersons with issues inherent in standing committees, assisting in the preparation of oversight reports, as well as their responsibility in debating the report when it is scheduled for consideration and debate in the Chamber,” Kandetu said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
