Know your Constitution

Article 17 Political Activity All citizens shall have the right to participate in peaceful political activity intended to influence the composition and policies of the Government. All citizens shall have the right to form and join political parties and; subject to such qualifications prescribed by law as are necessary in a democratic society to participate in the conduct of public affairs, whether directly or through freely chosen representatives. Article 95 Promotion of the Welfare of the People The State shall actively promote and maintain the welfare of the people by adopting, inter alia, policies aimed at the following: Encouragement of the mass of the population through education and other activities and through their organisations to influence Government policy by debating its decisions;.

Who we are

About us

Management Structure

A Programme Steering Committee (PSC), chaired by the National Planning Commission, provides strategic guidance and key decisions for the Programme. The PSC’s membership includes the National Assembly, National Council and three representatives of Civil Society Organisations in Namibia with voting right.

The European Union participates with a non-voting status. Key Government OMAs and other international development partners also participate on ad-hoc basis. The Technical assistance Unit provides secretariat service to the PSC

A partnership programme of the European Union and the Government of Namibia

Our Team

Christine Leiser

Team Leader, (EPDN) Programme

Christine is in charge for the delivery of the project’s results. Christine is a social scientist and organisational developer by profession, has worked in EU or GIZ funded managing roles with civil society in 9 countries. She started as a volunteer for Civil Society in teenage years, engaging in a catholic fair - trade shop and being a member of Amnesty International in her little home town in Germany. She has worked for example for years with the German Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, the Nobel Prize winning Russian human rights organisation Memorial in St. Petersburg and for the Zambian Governance Foundation. She is passionate about supporting people to get and learn together, about them finding joint, innovative solutions to overcome problems of their communities’ problems while respecting the planet and its life giving systems. She loves the African proverb Ubuntu - I am because you are

Anthony Tsekpo

Parliamentary Expert

Anthony is responsible for the component the Enhancing Participatory Democracy in Namibia (EPDN) Programme targeted at improving collaboration and coordination between Parliament and CSOs towards enhanced parliamentary oversight of government policies and programmes. As public financial management expert who is passionate to see public resources effectively deployed for the benefit of all citizens, Anthony is keen to support MPs and staff of parliaments in Africa to strengthen their role public budgeting and public financial management, and oversight.

Reena Fernando

Programme Coordinator

Reena’s role involves supporting the timely achievement of the Programme Results by providing a range of services, including: Financial Management, Procurement & Asset Management, Sourcing of Short-term Experts and Coordination with both houses of Parliament, CSOs and the National Planning Commission to achieve project objectives. Reena is passionate about effective and impactful project management that meets the desired targets.

The Namibian Parliament, in partnership with the EU-funded Enhancing Participatory Democracy in Namibia (EPDN) Programme is seeking to increase public engagement and participation of civil society and the general public in the work of Parliament.

OUR PARTNERS