Standing Rules and Orders for the National Assembly play a crucial role in maintaining order and efficiency during operations, as well as ensuring impartiality and maintaining ethical standards.

Members of Parliament stated that it is vital for MPs to understand the rules and conduct themselves in accordance to ensure professionalism and safeguard the integrity of the National Assembly in the interest of the broader public.

Some MPs stated that although the standing rules play a significant role in parliament, some may be outdated, further suggesting that there should be reviews carried out and amendments made to reflect today's realities.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and IPC MP Immanuel Nashinge says. "Things have changed. Taking stock of our rules every now and then just to look at what is working for us now and what is not working, I think it could be quite helpful moving forward."

"Some of them were created and not really well thought of, so when they are put into practice we see some discrepancies. We think that some of the rules need to be adjusted to fit the session of the day," adds AR MP, Vaino Hangula.

Swapo Party MPs Werner Iita and Austin Samupwa added to the debate.

"It needs to be amended and revisited so that we can amend certain rules."

"Having gone through the rules myself, there are a lot of loopholes that need to be closed. There are some that were well-intended, but in a practical sense, they are not working, and therefore, there are some issues that we need to attend to so that business in the house can flow better than it is doing now."

While some acknowledge that presiding officers are actively playing their role in enforcing rules and maintaining order in the National Assembly, others still believe that presiding officers are bending rules in favour of others.

AR MP National Assembly in Ester Haikola-Sakaria.

"Sometimes they are not being applied fairly by both sides, or many times presiding officers would stop us from raising points of privilege or points of just asking a question."

"It might be a loophole within the parliamentary standing committee since its inception. Now the new novice people, members of parliament, are challenging these loopholes to be rectified. That is my observation, stressed APP Leader and MP Ambrosius Kumbwa.

IPC MP Lucia Mbuti maintained, "When it is applied, we can see the presiding officer only looking on the left side, not on the right side. It is like there is a wait there. On One side it is being covered, and on the other side it is just like a lift, like vulnerable like that."

"The presiding officers are sometimes biased, because we know that they are also coming from the political bodies, but as per the rules, each and every parliamentarian must get an equal chance and have proper inputs," emphasised UDF MP Nico Somaeb.