Swapo’s slim margin threatens Netumbo’s reform agenda

Swapo’s loss of 12 seats in the 2024 National Assembly election – leaving the party with a slim 53% majority – is undermining President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s reform agenda, a stark departure from the party’s once-dominant parliamentary control that made passing laws far easier.Speaking at a Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) meeting in Mariental last weekend, Nandi-Ndaitwah criticised parliament for failing to pass any laws since she assumed office in March.Her remarks came as the Petroleum Amendment Bill – tabled as an urgent measure by acting minister of mines, energy and industry, Frans Kapofi – failed to secure parliamentary support. The bill sought to shift key petroleum functions from the ministry to the Office of the President.“Parliament has been sitting for the past eight months and not a single law has been passed. If you are following, the debates are just questions and motions deliberately meant to paralyse Parliament in doing its work,” she said.Opposition leaders push backOpposition parties, however, say Swapo no longer has the numbers to push legislation through without proper scrutiny.Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani said it is the constitutional duty of MPs to hold the executive accountable. “I think the president is off the mark in saying we are not passing legislation. She has not brought any legislation to the House that has been rejected. One of the real challenges we face is the management of time,” he said.Venaani also highlighted the inexperience of Nandi-Ndaitwah’s Cabinet. “She leads the most inexperienced Cabinet in the country’s history. Adding to that, about 30% of her own parliamentary bench is disengaged, largely because they did not receive the positions they expected. These dynamics are undermining her legislative strength and overall performance. She lacks the numbers and even the full support within her own party. Around 30% of her members are simply in slow-go motion. She is going to have a very tough time ahead, purely because of the numbers and internal discontent,” he said.Landless People’s Movement (LPM) lawmaker Eneas Emvula added that the opposition’s role is to ensure accountability. “The role of the executive is to prepare and table bills in Parliament for objective debate before passage. All bills are dealt with in accordance with the standing rules and orders that MPs have put in place.“It is a different ball game when Parliament receives ill-prepared bills from the executive. Such bills cannot be exempted from scrutiny. Failure to properly scrutinise any bill leads to misinterpretation in our courts and renders them incompetent, to say the least,” he said.Numbers tighten legislative pushSwapo currently holds 51 National Assembly seats with voting power, while the opposition has 45. With ministers frequently absent due to official duties outside Windhoek, the ruling party often struggles to secure the numbers needed to pass legislation.Venaani said Nandi-Ndaitwah faces a broader political challenge than simply blaming the opposition. “She does not have an overwhelming majority to drive her agenda. With only 53% support, and several ministers frequently absent, she often loses her majority in the house. That is the challenge of having a simple majority,” he said.Swapo deputy secretary-general and party chief whip in the National Assembly, Uahekua Herunga, dismissed the opposition’s claims as baseless. “If Swapo does not have the ability to drive the business agenda, then who has the majority to drive whose agenda? There’s absolutely nothing factual in what he’s saying,” he told Namibian Sun.He added that the opposition will always attempt to block Swapo’s work but insisted the party continues to advance its agenda in line with the president’s vision, the Constitution, and the party manifesto.Slim majority on display in committee voteEarlier this year, Swapo’s narrow margin was evident when an internal defection allowed LPM MP Utaara Mootu to win the deputy chairperson position on the influential standing committee on international relations, defence and security. Mootu defeated Swapo’s candidate, 22-year-old Fenny Tutjavi, despite Swapo holding a numerical advantage.The incident prompted Swapo secretary-general Sophia Shaningwa to require party members to photograph themselves in the voting booth to verify they voted along party lines in subsequent committee elections. On that day, Swapo’s chief whip Herunga was absent, leaving 12 party members present. Mootu won 12 votes to 11, indicating a likely defection from within Swapo’s ranks. - nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

Swapo’s slim margin threatens Netumbo’s reform agenda

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-21

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Swapo’s slim margin threatens Netumbo’s reform agenda

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Namibian Sun 2025-11-21

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