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STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF SADC-PF END OF PROJECT MEETING – PARLIAMENT OF NAMIBIA 1ST APRIL 2023 AT 9:30 HRS “SETTING THE END OF PROJECT REVIEW AND DOCUMENTATION TONE”

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF SADC-PF

END OF PROJECT MEETING – PARLIAMENT OF NAMIBIA

1ST APRIL 2023 AT 9:30 HRS

“SETTING THE END OF PROJECT REVIEW AND DOCUMENTATION TONE”

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF SADC-PF END OF PROJECT MEETING – PARLIAMENT OF NAMIBIA

 

 

Salutations

  • Hon Gothard Kasuto- Chairperson of the National Working Group for SRHR
  • Honourable Members, in your respective hierachies,
  • Dr Ntombi Mchichuti- Executive Director of ARASA

 

Colleagues and distinguished participants,

It is with immense pleasure that I appear today to address this august audience in my capacity as Secretary General of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.

Today, I would first of all like to congratulate the Parliament of Namibia, in particular the Office of the Hon.Speaker, the Office of the Clerk, as well as Hon.Members, led by Hon Gothard Kasuto and the SRHR Researcher, who have driven the SRHR Project to fruition over the last 4 years.

Despite competing parliamentary schedules and initiatives, and despite the upsurge of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am pleased to share that most project activities under the SRHR Project have been successfully completed.

I must say that there has been an excellent impetus from the Parliament of Namibia to implement the Project right from its start in 2019, which befitted the status of the national Parliament as the Host Parliament to the Forum. Indeed, diverse SRHR activities were conducted in Namibian territory, including workshops, roundtable meetings and oversight visits.

As you would have noted, the SRHR Project is not only a sexual rights project, it is a project on good governance, democratic accountability, and implementation of human rights, amongst others. It brings to the fore issues which are fundamental to a democracy such as the rule of law, separation of powers, constitutionalism, and stirs debates around those themes in view of stimulating democratisation.

The Project reflects the core values of the Forum which gravitate around non-discrimination and equal treatment before the law.

At the end of the day, the Project aims to highlight the linkages which exist between SRHR implementation and the state of the democracy, and demonstrate the interdependence of these 2 concepts.

There is thus an inherent value in advancing the Project since the consolidation of the democratic drive benefits other parliamentary priorities as well, whether it is about combating corruption, protecting the environment, building new public infrastructure, to cite but a few.

In other words, the Project advances democratic stewardship. It promotes the identity of parliament as an independent institution which can develop its own body of parliamentary policy, separately from the Executive, and in this regard exercise consistent oversight over programmes implemented by the Government.

Citizens hold Parliament to account, and Parliament holds Government to account, thus reflecting the foundational tenet of representative democracy.

In addition, the Project has also ensured the escalation of participatory democracy which entails the participation of citizens and multi-stakeholders with Parliament as an institution. I am pleased to note that this has been successfully achieved through public hearings and meetings of the national working groups.

Now that the Project is drawing to an end, it is time to wind up activities and reflect on the outcomes.

This process is important since this exercise in introspection will feed into the Forum’s process of applying for a new Project with its donor, Sweden, and will also assist the national Parliament to identify any areas where there is a room for change or improvement. 

It will be essential for stakeholders who have interacted with the Project to reflect and make constructive recommendations on the way forward and on how best to create an impactful value.

At the end of the day, in every Project which is implemented, it is the results which matter the most.

Same will be presented to you in a few minutes by the Ms Andreas, the SRHR Researcher, and I am sure many of you will identify yourselves as having contributed to the SRHR activities or initiatives presented.

Before I give the floor to Ms Andreas, I wish to say a few words about the impact of the Project.

As we reflect on the Project, it is important to consider the Theory of Change, and determine if the objectives have been met, and if yes, reflect upon how the objectives could have had a deeper or more profound impact.

Impact should be relevant, meaningful and lead to sustainable results.

I am sure you would relate to these characteristics as you assess and review the project’s impact.

The impact is relevant if it directly relates to the Theory of Change. For instance, we know that several initiatives made around  universal health coverage, access to medicines in the context of SRHR, or the elimination of child marriage, relate directly to the Project.

The impact is meaningful when SRHR changes made through the Project has brought positive progress and enhanced the SRHR legal and policy framework.

Finally, the impact is sustainable when changes brought are not temporary but will pass the test of time. For instance, an increase in budget to access SRHR commodities will only be a sustainable measure if there are means to keep the budget at the given ceiling. In addition, SRHR policies and laws can only be sustainable if there is a guarantee that they will not be repealed by a change in Government, as we have recently seen in regions close to SADC. As we reflect on sustainability, there is thus a need to develop parliamentary innovation in the ways we address SRHR and human rights law in general to ensure that rights acquired are not easily reversed or overruled.

These are thus the characteristics of the SRHR impact that we seek, that you may leverage upon to inform the forthcoming reflection exercise.

Honourable Members, colleagues and distinguished participants,

As I end, I wish to add that Parliament must continue to develop its partnership matrix which has started with the SRHR Project. Partnerships ensure that the communication gap between Parliament and the citizenry is bridged, which is vital for the right SRHR information to flow to Parliament and inform the decision-making process.

The partnership matrix acts as a catalyst to facilitate the attainment of the project outcomes, and will survive even beyond the Project’s life. It can also facilitate the parliamentary discourse in other fields which are linked to SRHR and democratisation, and open doors which could not be contemplated before.

If it has been properly forged, the partnership matrix should be the Project’s parting gift to the national Parliament.

I end this speech with renewed congratulations as I leave the floor to Ms Andreas.

With these words, I thank you for your kind attention.

Thank you.

Ms B.Sekgoma,

Secretary General

1st April 2023

 

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF SADC-PF END OF PROJECT MEETING – PARLIAMENT OF NAMIBIA

Last modified on samedi, 01 avril 2023 10:26
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