‘It’s a tactic to gain votes’

…Opposition slams Swapo plans to start a new airline

Opposition parties have slammed Swapo’s proposal to revive Air Namibia, dismissing it as a hollow election tactic aimed at gathering votes.

This comes after Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told party supporters over the weekend that they are planning to revive the national airline.

In an interview with The Namibian yesterday, Independence Patriots for Change spokesperson Imms Nashinge said the ruling party needs to step aside and make way for change.

“Swapo is exhausted. Namibians must help them pack their bags and go,” Nashinge said.

“We want to spend more time on realistic and progressive things, not this political authority because it is election year. How do you revive something that you deliberately closed down?” he said.

UNREALISTIC PROMISE

“We need to focus on things that make sense, things we can spend our energy on. It is unrealistic that they made a decision to shut down the airline. Their hands were full, so what happened now? Why now, and why bring it up when the national debt is 170 billion? Where are they going to get the money to reopen the airline” he asked.

Air Namibia, a 74-year-old airline, has been shut down for almost four years after it consumed N$11 billion in government bailouts over two decades.

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) national spokesperson Geoffrey Mwilima says Swapo has made an empty promise.

“It is an empty promise; reviving Air Namibia will not happen. They have failed on numerous occasions and have done nothing.

“If PDM takes over the government, I can promise that we will maintain the airline. Normally, in a country, you cannot have only one airline. You need to have multiple,” he says.

According to Mwilima, the government has already failed to maintain the airline.

“The same airline collapsed, went bankrupt, and was resuscitated by the government. We don’t know what new things they are planning to bring. For me, the government has failed to manage the airline. What new mechanisms will they put in place to revive it again?” he asks.

Mwilima says PDM would ensure there are multiple airlines that are affordable to all Namibians.

“In Namibia, only those with money can afford to fly. It is now only for ministers and people who can afford it. What about the majority of our people? How will they benefit from this new airline?” he says.

“Everything you do when you are in government, you do for the people who voted you into power, but Swapo is the opposite.

“People are suffering in many aspects. Transport and networking in Namibia are a problem, and you need those to work,” Mwilima says.

BUYING VOTES

Landless People’s Movement (LPM) national spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa says Swapo made a political statement to gain votes.

“I believe it is a political statement made by the Swapo party to try and gain votes, without thoroughly investigating why Air Namibia failed in the first place. You cannot make such a promise and revive it without risking falling into the same trap we were in for years, when we had to continuously bail Air Namibia out,” he says.

Although there is a need for Air Namibia, Simataa says, investigations should be launched first.

“There is a need and a desire to have Air Namibia again, but we must investigate how we managed it and whether it will be a successful endeavour, especially given the current economic climate of the country,” he says.

FOOD INSECURITY

Simataa also criticises the revival plans, noting that Swapo cannot focus on reviving Air Namibia while the country faces food insecurity.

“We are talking about reviving Air Namibia, but we have food insecurity happening in our country. Now we have to kill wild animals to provide food for Namibians.

“LPM is not in the business of making empty promises. If it were LPM, we would investigate and find out why Air Namibia failed. That would allow us to reconstruct it,” he says.

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matu­ndu says there is no business plan or model that will successfully bring back Air Namibia from the grave.

According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, Swapo also plans to upgrade Hosea Kutako International Airport, Katima Mulilo Airport and Rundu Airport, and conduct a feasibility study for the upgrading of Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz airports.

In 2021, the late president Hage Geingob said the decision to liquidate Air Namibia was a collective Cabinet decision, despite calls by unions and civil society organisations to restructure the national airline instead.