The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) is unclear about who among its 20 elected officials will occupy the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition next week. 

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani is the current leader of the official opposition. 

It was natural for him to lead the opposition as the president of the largest opposition party in the National Assembly. 

However, the IPC has entered uncharted waters because for the first time, the leader of the biggest opposition party – Panduleni Itula – is not a member of the august House. 

However, the patriots have shunned the narrative that they will have to elect a new leader of the official opposition from its list of 20 individuals going to Parliament.

Official opposition 

Following the recent elections, the IPC is the de facto official opposition.

This position comes with extra responsibilities and benefits, different from ordinary Members of Parliament.

Essentially, it is part of the National Assembly’s set-up.

A 2021 Government Gazette ruled that the “Leader of the Official Opposition must be provided with an office at the National Assembly and a personal or administrative assistant of their choice, funded by the government”.

Additionally, the position comes with benefits which includes a bodyguard, fully-maintained government vehicle and a higher salary than ordinary members.

It is said that the salary for the role now is around N$996 006 per annum.

Vague role

However, due to the IPC’s dual office-bearer’s rule, which prohibits its president from having a seat in Parliament, the party must now navigate a new political phenomenon.

The law does not explicitly create a constitutional office for the role, but it is more of a parliamentary convention than a legally-mandated position.

IPC spokesperson Imms Nashinge offered a perspective on the matter, challenging the traditional constraints of the role.

 “The president remains as such, and there is no crisis there. Our president will be the leader of the official opposition, as president of the IPC, and that’s it. There is no need for us to go and shop for anybody else,” he said nonchalantly. In the same vein, he addressed an issue about the leader of the opposition’s current role confined solely to parliamentary matters, saying it’s leaving broader governance concerns largely unaddressed.

Nashinge is thus calling for a reimagining of the opposition leader’s role, arguing that the position should be empowered to influence national governance. 

“If certain things are not properly done, the leader of the official opposition should be given the power and the right to even propose a suspension or whatnot if one has not done right”, he noted. In essence, he portrays the status of the role as vague and without a comprehensive mandate.

Duties

Approached for comment, National Assembly spokesperson Sakeus Kadhikwa said the legislative entity expects the official opposition party to select who is going to be its leader in the august House. 

“We will acknowledge them as per the Electoral Act, but in terms of how it is going to assign the duties of the leader, that’s up to them, as long as that individual is part of the National Assembly,” he said.

“The leader of the opposition is tasked with presenting their party as a viable alternative to the ruling government. This includes preparing to take over governance should the ruling party lose power,” Kadhikwa stated.

In addition, the leader also coordinates legislative efforts among opposition parties, appoints shadow ministers to monitor government ministries, and serves as the main public representative of the opposition.

Bridge

Asked whether the party will take up the benefits which come with the role, despite Itula not going to Parliament, Nashinge said, “We will cross the bridge once we get there.”

“They must guide us. We are waiting for them to engage us because I read comments from Parliament which were misleading. So, we will wait and see on the way forward because we haven’t committed any crime in our adoption,” he added.

It is Nashinge’s belief that there is no obligation to question the issue of the leader of the opposition.

“For example, when political parties had to register in terms of members of parliament and presidential candidates, we were given a green light by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) that we have complied, so everything that we are doing is above board,” he noted. Nashinge said presently, their priorities are not the benefits, but a greater cause.

Practicality

Political analyst Rui Tyitende weighed in on the IPC’s leadership conundrum, arguing that Itula has long operated in a world of ideology rather than political reality. 

He contends that Itula’s decision not to place himself on the parliamentary list stems from his unwavering belief that he was destined for the Presidency and his interpretation of the Namibian Constitution, which he believes bars a candidate from contesting both the presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously.

“In politics, there is a world of ideology – what people wish to happen – and a world of reality – how things actually are,” the analyst remarked.

Tyitende said the IPC’s parliamentary caucus will likely operate under Itula’s direct influence, despite him not holding a seat in Parliament. “If the affairs at the City of Windhoek are anything to go by, whoever is installed as the official leader of the opposition will be reporting directly to Itula at his house in Katutura. The same will apply to the other MPs. If you look at the current list of IPC MPs, who do you think has the intellectual fortitude to challenge Itula on policy issues? They will all be remote-controlled from his house – that is the unfortunate reality,” he stressed. Itula resides in Shandumbala. 

Governance expert Marius Kudumo said the IPC dual-office rule is a new phenomenon in local politics. “Now, a leader of the opposition party in terms of the State protocols is on that list, so who will be there? Will it be someone who is in Parliament? Or the leader of the opposition party who is not in Parliament? We have to look at how that is going to work,” he observed.

Kudumo said the IPC has nonetheless been consistent on the element that the Presidential and National Assembly elections are two separate elections.

“But the issue is, how is that going to be managed?” he questioned.

Meanwhile, political scientist Ndumba Kamwanyah said “it’s strange.”

“It’s a norm that the leader of the official opposition leads the party in Parliament. But in this case, he will be outside, so I don’t know how he will be accommodated on some official functions of the State. Because essentially, they will be a government-in-waiting, that is why they are expected to be in Parliament to lead and act as the president-in-waiting, so it’s tricky,” he continued.

Kamwanyah said it will have political and practical implications in terms of implementations. “So, they need to find a formula to avoid that it doesn’t impact his role and the role of the party in Parliament,” he stated. – ashikololo@nepc.com.na