NC told to pass citizenship bill

SWAPO has instructed the National Council to pass the controversial Citizenship Bill.

Swapo party chief whip in the National Council Lebbius Tobias allegedly called fellow party MPs individually to say he has orders from 'seniors' for them to pass the bill so that it can be gazetted before Thursday. Thursday is the deadline for government to give citizenship rights to a child born in Namibia to Dutch parents. Yesterday, Tobias said that he cannot comment on the matter, and can only speak to The Namibian once he arrives from Johannesburg at noon today. Members of the National Council are not happy with this instruction, as they feel that they have taken an oath to uphold the Namibian Constitution, and are now expected to go against it. The National Council had referred the bill for consultations because they felt the intended changes needed wider discusssions and clarification.