Erasmus Shalihaxwe
A political science lecturer at the University of Namibia, Erika Thomas has described Vipuakuje Muharukua’s switch to Swapo as an opportunistic move that shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Muharukua, who announced his defection from the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) to SWAPO on Tuesday, was criticised for his inconsistency and lack of loyalty.
“These people are opportunists. He thinks the PDM boat is sinking, and he does not want to sink with it, so he chose to jump to stay relevant in the political sphere,” said Thomas.
After many years of criticising Swapo for corruption and maladministration in Parliament, Thomas said Muharukua should keep quiet and not say anything because nobody is going to take him seriously.
“I don’t think he really knows where he is standing. Maybe he is just looking for a position in government and thinks Swapo will give him an offer to remain relevant,” she said.
She cautioned Swapo or any other political party to be careful with people who are moving around changing political homes.
According to Thomas, such people can’t be trusted because nobody knows where they are standing in terms of their loyalty.
Muharukua, a former Member of Parliament who served on the Popular Democratic Movement’s ticket, resigned from the party and Parliament in April this year.
He declared that Swapo is Namibia’s saving grace and the only party capable of effectively leading the country.
“Swapo is, at this point in time, the saving grace of this country. Why is one saying that? No one would be able to run this country other than Swapo,” he said.
Muharukua announced his decision to join Swapo at a media briefing in Windhoek on Tuesday, accompanied by Swapo member of parliament Jennely Matundu and former diplomat Kaire Mbuende.
He said he would vote for party candidate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in the November elections.
“Voting for Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah is the right thing to do,” he said.
Muharukua explained that the steadily expanding economy under the Swapo-led government influenced his decision.
According to his analysis at independence, the country’s gross domestic product stood at U$ 2.79 billion and in 2023 it was projected to be U$ 30 billion.
“In the first quarter of 2024, our growth was 4,7 percent up from 4,4 percent in the last quarter of last year. Our annual budget now stands at N$ 100.1 billion. This is a milestone that no reasoning person should ignore. Further, global consultancy groups are projecting our oil discoveries to generate up to N$ 53 billion in our national streams,” said Muharuka.
They added that these are some of the positive points Namibians should take into account when voting and who to vote for.
“Of course, the country’s stability has been induced by the primary sector doing well, and indeed, I concede that we could do even better had we been conducting optimal value addition. But the fact remains, Namibia is a stronger nation than it was 34 years ago. I mean we are all able to carry on business, profession and other disciplines with minimal interference from the state,” he said.
Swapo’s deputy secretary general, Uahekua Herunga, said Muharukua made the right decision to go back to Swapo.
Herunga said the decision was in the best interest of the party and the country at large, especially the inhabitants of Kunene region.
“Comrade Muharukua, we welcome you back into the Swapo party, you did a good thing for leaving the PDM of DTA,” said Herunga.
