Petroleum bill a danger to democracy – opposition

Opposition parties have accused the government of bulldozing the petroleum bill through parliament, warning that the move threatens democratic principles and sidelines the voices of elected representatives. The parties say the decision to advance the bill to committee stage, despite concerns raised during debate, reflects a growing disregard for parliamentary scrutiny, with several leaders accusing the speaker of failing to give lawmakers adequate opportunities to debate the legislation. Speaking at a joint press briefing yesterday, opposition leaders condemned what they described as the abuse of parliamentary majority to push through legislation without adequately addressing serious concerns. Landless People’s Movement chief whip Dawid Eigub said using a parliamentary majority to silence dissent was not democracy. “Democracy is under siege.

We are seeing how they are using the speaker of the National Assembly to shield dubious plans in parliament,” he said. Eigub accused the speaker of failing to represent the interests of parliament, arguing that all lawmakers should be given an opportunity to debate bills instead of allowing legislation to be bulldozed through the house. He also accused president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration of undermining democratic processes by ignoring opposition concerns, saying the parties represented the interests of ordinary Namibians. The bill seeks to transfer the Upstream Petroleum Unit from the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy to the Office of the President. Independent Patriots for Change leader and official opposition figure Imms Nashinge said parliament should be a place where government proposals are thoroughly scrutinised and debated. “We need to do this so we are able to look back one day and say we did a good job…