National Assembly (NA) Speaker Peter Katjavivi says Swapo Members of Parliament (MPs) are not barred from speaking frankly. His comments follow calls for Swapo parliamentarians, who criticise the government, to be reprimanded. Katjavivi was responding to questions by Nampa on whether Swapo MPs, who constitute 80% of the National Assembly, are not allowed to speak freely or be critical of Government. The speaker said all parties in Commonwealth parliaments engage in party caucuses and have whips. Further, the party caucus serves as a clearing house system to iron out internal party challenges, that could also be shared in the House. Last week, Poverty Eradication Minister Zephania Kameeta condemned fellow Swapo MP and Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Veikko Nekundi for criticising the government and local authorities in the NA. On Friday, at the opening of the Swapo central committee (CC) meeting, president Hage Geingob expressed displeasure in the manner in which ruling party officials conduct themselves in the House. To this, Katjavivi said the President was simply addressing the question of inner-party discipline, which should not be exaggerated.