Namibia’s Budget Committee Applauds Zimbabwe’s Parliament for Foundational Support

Namibia’s National Assembly Budget and Finance Committee has expressed deep appreciation to the Parliament of Zimbabwe for its instrumental role in supporting the establishment of the committee as a key parliamentary oversight body.

Speaking during a joint session on Monday with Zimbabwe’s Budget, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Committee and the Public Accounts Committee, Namibian delegation leader and Committee Chairperson, Ms. Helaria Mukapuli, lauded Zimbabwe’s Parliament for its continued guidance and willingness to share best practices.

“We are happy to be here, accepted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe on our request to come and learn from their best practices,” Mukapuli said. “Our committee is newly established in our parliamentary setup. We established the committee after our previous visit to Zimbabwe.”

She noted that Namibia’s initial visit was undertaken by a select committee of five members, but following insights gained from Zimbabwe’s model, it has since been upgraded to a standing Budget and Finance Committee with nine members.

During the session, the Namibian lawmakers learned about public participation in budget formulation, enhancing government accountability, and strengthening parliamentary oversight mechanisms.

Mukapuli also expressed gratitude for Zimbabwe’s historical support during Namibia’s liberation struggle, highlighting the longstanding ties between the two nations.

Zimbabwean Budget Committee Chairperson, Cde Energy Mutodi, confirmed that the session was comprehensive and well-received by the visiting delegation.

“We covered a whole range of issues related to budgeting, and our visitors were very happy,” said Mutodi. “There are things that they are not yet implementing in their country… they want to do exactly as we do here in Zimbabwe.”

He noted that Namibia has closely modeled its Budget and Finance Committee on Zimbabwe’s structure and that full cooperation was extended during the exchange to help Namibia strengthen its parliamentary oversight and fiscal governance frameworks.

The Namibian delegation is in Zimbabwe on a week-long benchmarking mission aimed at enhancing institutional knowledge, legislative capacity, and inter-parliamentary cooperation across southern Africa.