By Moses Magadza

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA – The President of the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), Honourable Justin Tokely, has praised Namibia’s longstanding commitment to regional parliamentary cooperation and called for renewed support as the Forum moves towards becoming a fully-fledged SADC Regional Parliament.

Speaking during a courtesy call on the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, Honourable Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila this week, Honourable Tokely, who is the Speaker of the National Assembly of Madagascar, expressed appreciation for Namibia’s “unwavering commitment to democratic values” and its historic role in nurturing the SADC PF since its establishment 27 years ago.

“Our visit is not merely symbolic,” he said, “but a testimony to the deeply rooted partnership between the Parliament of Namibia and the SADC Parliamentary Forum.”

He recalled that Namibia, under the leadership of the late Dr Mose Tjitendero, was instrumental in the Forum’s founding and has since provided the Secretariat with a stable institutional home in Windhoek.

Honourable Tokely paid tribute to Namibia’s successive parliamentary leaders, including the late Honourable Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab and Professor Peter Katjavivi, for their contributions to strengthening parliamentary diplomacy and advancing the transformation of the Forum into a Regional Parliament.

He congratulated Honourable Kuugongelwa-Amadhila for her groundbreaking leadership as the first female Speaker of Namibia’s National Assembly.

“You bring to this role not only profound experience in governance but also an unwavering dedication to gender equality and regional diplomacy,” he said.

He applauded the progressive composition of Namibia’s new Parliament following the November 2024 elections, noting that women now occupy 40.6% of parliamentary seats, placing Namibia at the forefront of gender representation in the SADC region.

He also welcomed the increased participation of young people in Namibia’s legislature, describing it as a sign of meaningful intergenerational dialogue and national development.

“These are not just statistics,” Honourable Tokely stated. “They reflect the moral and democratic character of a nation; a Parliament that embodies the future of a SADC Regional Parliament anchored on inclusion, gender equality, and youth empowerment.”

As the SADC PF intensifies its advocacy for the signing and ratification of the Protocol establishing the SADC Regional Parliament, Honourable Tokely appealed to Namibia to continue leveraging its influence within the SADC Council of Ministers.

“Your institutional memory as the founding host of the Forum and your leadership will be vital in mobilising the political will needed to move the transformation agenda forward,” he said.

He further called on Namibia to maintain its support by continuing to host the Forum’s Secretariat, offering political stability, operational assistance, and the space needed for the Forum to grow as a hub of parliamentary diplomacy.

Honourable Tokely expressed profound gratitude to Honourable Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and the Parliament of Namibia for their support to the SADC PF.

“You have not only housed our Secretariat but nurtured our vision. This visit reaffirms our shared purpose and renews our collective commitment to regional integration through parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy,” he told the former Prime Minister, who has also served as Minister of Finance and Director General of the National Planning Commission.

On her part, Speaker Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said she and her National Assembly were deeply honoured and grateful for the courtesy call, which included representatives of countries that stood by Namibia as she waged a protracted liberation struggle.

“It is my pleasure and privilege to receive this courtesy call because of your (countries’) association socially and financially with Namibia’s liberation movement, and sometimes sustaining military attacks. It is always humbling when you come to our country. Feel at home,” she said.

She told the Executive Committee, to which she belongs by virtue of being the host Speaker of the SADC PF Secretariat, that the 8th Parliament of Namibia was new, having been sworn in in March.

“So, I am very, very new. Please forgive whatever mistakes we might make because I am used to being in the Executive and not in the legislature,” she quipped.

She apologised for not attending the Executive Committee’s orientation training due to discussions on the national budget in the National Assembly.

However, she pledged to attend and actively participate in subsequent Executive Committee meetings “so that I get to know more about the countries that used to support us.”

She told her guests that she left Namibia to go into exile as a 12-year-old girl and reminisced about her stay in Angola and the United Republic of Tanzania. She recalled spending so many years in Angola that the country was synonymous with “home.”

Among the Members of the Executive Committee who visited the Speaker was the Honourable Professor Isaac Jean-Claude Tshilumbayi Musawu, the First Deputy Speaker of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He briefed the Namibian Speaker about the ongoing instability in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and how SADC had stood by his country.

In response, Speaker Kuugongelwa-Amadhila called for peace.

“We are moved by what is happening in the DRC. We are all praying that the country of Patrice Lumumba will have permanent peace,” she said.

The courtesy call was held on the sidelines of the Executive Committee meeting of the SADC PF, ahead of the Forum’s 57th Plenary Assembly scheduled for Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, later this month.

Notable among the SADC PF delegation were the Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola, Honourable Carolina Cerqueira; the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda; the Speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho, Honourable Tlohang Sekhamane; the Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia, Honourable Nelly Mutti; Honourable Dumelang Selashando, leader of the opposition in Botswana; Honourable Shally Josepha Raymond, the Chairperson of the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC); and SADC PF Secretary General Ms Boemo Sekgoma.

Earlier, the Executive Committee visited the Heroes’ Acre and was shown the tombs of Namibia’s Founding President, Dr Sam Nujoma and that of President Hage Geingob.

Designed by a North Korean firm, Mansudae Overseas Project, the Heroes’ Acre was built over 13 months and inaugurated in 2002.

According to the City of Windhoek website, the Memorial’s construction was prompted by the need to “foster the spirit of patriotism and nationalism.”

-Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC PF.