A delegation from Botswana’s parliament that was on an official visit has praised Namibia for having a sizable number of women and young representatives in its National Assembly.
The head of delegation, Mpho Balopi, told Nampa on Wednesday that the Namibian parliament has made progress in gender representation, which is almost 50-50.
‘We applauded the parliament of Namibia. They are working very hard, especially the National Assembly, as opposed to the National Council, which has a process similar to our National Assembly that ushered in fewer women and more men,’ Balopi said in an interview.
He was also impressed by the number of young lawmakers in the Namibian lower house.
‘They have more than 15 people who are less than 32 years old or so right now. This is a very formidable milestone. And women are almost 50-50 with men. The other thing is that in their oversight committees when somebody becomes a chairperson and is a man, the deputy has to be a woman. These are some reforms that I believe are very
good. It is a challenge for us currently and something we are going to share with our colleagues back in parliament,’ Balopi said.
Balopi and his delegation were on a benchmarking visit to engage with their Namibian counterparts, which he said forms part of the journey to engage and grow relationships, as well as integrate the two countries.
He noted that the two heads of state have laid the foundation for Botswana and Namibia to engage and strengthen bilateral and multilateral relationships.
As an example of a strong relationship, Balopi cited the agreement between the two countries allowing citizens to travel across borders for business and tourism using national identification cards.
‘At the end of the day, we have to come here as an oversight committee of the parliament of Botswana to have an exchange with the oversight committee of counterparts here in the Namibian Parliament,’ he said.
During a meeting with his Botswana counterparts, Speaker of the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi highlighted the
strong relationship between Botswana and Namibia.
‘Our two nations share a rich history dating back to our respective independence; we share more than just borders. We share resources, cultures, and a mutual respect that has allowed us to manage these shared resources effectively,’ the speaker said.
Katjavivi highlighted the 24-hour operation of the Trans-Kalahari/Mamuno Border Post that was launched earlier in April as testament to the shared commitment to facilitating trade and enhancing connectivity between the two nations.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency