Namibian president urges parliamentarians to strengthen good governance

WINDHOEK, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's President Hage Geingob urged members of parliament to pay attention to the agenda of the year and to strengthen good governance.

Geingob said this Tuesday when he officially opened the 7th Session of the 6th Parliament in Windhoek.

This year's theme is Enhancing Partnership to Strengthen Good Governance in Namibia.

"In line with your theme for the year, I believe that to strengthen our governance architecture, we have to enhance the twin principles upon which effective governance rests, namely, transparency and accountability," Geingob said.

Geingob said accountability is recognized as the most fundamental requirement for effective governance and a critical component of representative democracy.

Saying that the parliament is expected to debate about 20 Bills this year, Geingob expressed disappointment that out of 40 Bills tabled in the last session, only 19 were passed.

"Ultimately the quality of the debate, which influences the final output, is determined by how effective standing committees operate. I believe more can be done to enhance the effectiveness of our standing committees," he said.

Geingob further said he expected parliament to remember that 2018 is the year of reckoning.

"Our ability to effectively govern will face scrutiny this year, and that is why I have declared the year 2018 the Year of Reckoning," he said, adding that the parliamentarians have the responsibility to demonstrate the commitment to administer the Organs of State on behalf of the People.

Geingob reminded the parliamentarians that their ability to fulfill expectations determines whether they will be re-elected in 2019. Enditem