Windhoek: National Council Secretary Tousy Namiseb has underscored the importance of parliamentary oversight in strengthening accountability, improving service delivery, and ensuring effective checks and balances among the three arms of State. Speaking at the opening of a three-day engagement between National Council standing committees and Government offices, ministries, and agencies (OMAs) here on Tuesday, Namiseb said the exercise is conducted in accordance with the constitutional principle of the separation of powers.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Namiseb emphasized that the engagement with the ministries is aimed at fostering collaboration rather than policing the Executive. "I want to emphasise that this engagement is done within the framework of the constitutional principle of separation of powers," he said, explaining that the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature are independent and equal organs of State established under Article 1 of the Namibian Constitution.

Namiseb highlighted that the constitutional principle of checks and balances enables each arm of Government to hold the others accountable and safeguard constitutional governance. "When we say we do checks and balances, the three organs are checking each other's powers and balancing each other's powers," he noted.

He stressed that Article 41 of the Constitution requires ministers, individually and collectively as Cabinet, to account to both the President and Parliament. "All the ministers individually and collectively as Cabinet are accountable to the President, but they are also accountable to Parliament as a whole. So it is within that context of accountability that oversight is being done," Namiseb explained.

The National Council's 11 standing committees undertake fact-finding missions to determine whether ministries are fulfilling their constitutional obligations and delivering services effectively. Namiseb stated, "This is where we want to come together. This is where we want to understand as Parliament what is happening so that we can assist each other, we can collaborate to enhance our services."

Namiseb cited education and healthcare as examples of sectors requiring closer parliamentary scrutiny, pointing to reports of learners being denied access to public schools over school development fund contributions and recurring medicine shortages at public health facilities. He added that oversight should also assess progress on decentralisation and ensure ministries align approved budgets with service delivery targets throughout the financial year.