Itula calls for stronger official opposition powers in Namibia

Leader of the official opposition, Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Panduleni Itula, is calling for greater authority and clearly defined powers for the official opposition, saying that the current framework leaves the role weak and ineffective.

Itula, however, did not confirm whether his party will occupy the office with its perks.

Created by the late president Hage Geingob in 2020, the office comes with various perks, which include personal security, a vehicle with a dedicated driver and office personnel.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Itula argued that Namibia’s constitutional framework does not formally recognise the role of the official opposition, leaving it vulnerable to political manipulation.

According to him, while standing rules of parliament mention the position, these rules can be altered or removed at any time.

“The constitutional and statutory recognition of the role, and responsibilities and powers of the official opposition is absent and only appears in standing rules which makes it vulnerable to alteration and/or removal, thus denying the minority voices,” Itula said.

He said unlike in other parliamentary systems, where the opposition has formal roles in governance oversight, Namibia’s opposition leader is merely given a title with no prescribed functions.

“The role of the official opposition in semi-presidential hybrid parliamentary electoral systems, such as Namibia and Tunisia, modelled on the Westminster-model of parliamentary system, are defective where a constitutionally recognised official opposition doesn’t exist.

“The implied official opposition resulting from separate elections on the same day complicated our perception as the runner-up in our presidential electoral process, yet the runner-up juristic entity is accorded a sub-constitutional title without a prescription of roles, functions, powers and responsibilities to be executed in such official office,” Itula said.

Itula said modern democracy is not merely crude majority rule, but a political system combining representative and responsible government with fundamental rights, rule of law, checks and balances, impartial administration, and means and resources of participatory engagement and open public discussion.

“If opposition politics are valued as a critical ingredient of democratic politics, there shall be an obligation upon an open government to secure such resources as necessary to ensure the opposition voice in ensuring accountability, scrutiny and ensuring value for taxpayers money in the administration,” he said.

He said the 2020 government Gazette on the official opposition was supposed to focus more on outlining responsibilities and powers instead of benefits.

“If the Gazetted provisions of 2020 – albeit it’s more on benefits than the role’s duties, responsibilities and powers – are for the opposition party, it should serve the purposes of democratic politics and the people of Namibia,” Itula said.

Meanwhile, National Assembly spokesperson Sakeus Kadhikwa says they are currently busy allocating offices to members of parliament.

“It’s too early to say if the office [of the official opposition] is occupied or not. We can only know who is sitting in which office next week,” Kadhikwa says.

Itula also said IPC will not make its parliamentary appointments based on media pressure and will follow its own guidelines in announcing its chief whip when the time comes.

Reacting to this, political analyst Ndumbah Kamwanyah says the absence of a chief whip and Itula’s decision not to attend parliament can negatively affect the IPC’s growth and direction.

“We’ve seen this during the budget discussions, where the official opposition members seemed unprepared and unclear of their role as official opposition members in terms of taking up leadership. The way I see it, the IPC representatives will be limited or forced to consult leadership before responding to new issues, which causes delays and lack of immediate direction. I believe a more direct approach would serve the IPC and the official opposition’s role better in parliament,” Kamwanyah says