Namibia: Land and people
Extracted from:Lesley Blaauw & Sydney Letsholo 2009 "Chapter 10: Namibia" IN Denis Kadima and Susan Booysen (eds) Compendium of Elections in Southern Africa 1989-2009: 20 Years of Multiparty Democracy, EISA, Johannesburg, 348.
Since the first democratic elections were held under the auspices of the United Nations to elect a constituent assembly in 1989, Namibia has held locally supervised free and fair elections on a regular basis. In addition, the rule of law has been upheld, and the rights of individuals have largely been respected. Government has also shown considerable commitment to expanding access to health care and education. Access to the latter has meant that Namibia has seen improved school enrolment and literacy rates since independence. To overcome gender disparities brought about by decades of German colonialism and apartheid policies instituted by the South African government, the Namibian government actively pursued policies which would benefit women. After the elections in 2004, women constituted almost 30 per cent of members of parliament in the National Assembly, the highest legislative body in Namibia. However, in 2005, the number of women representatives dropped to just 25 per cent. In the National Council, the second house of national government, women make up approximately 40 per cent of the representatives (Bauer & Taylor 2005).
Outside the purview of formal politics, civil society has grown considerably since 1990. In particular, women's groups, churches and human rights organisations have been playing defining roles in holding government accountable. Independent media, operating alongside a government-owned one, has remained vocal and vigilant. However, funding of political parties remains a contentious issue. Media coverage of parties during elections has also raised the ire of opposition parties. Here the bone of contention has been the unlevel playing field between the governing and opposition parties. For instance, in the build-up to the 2009 elections, the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) had already branded the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) "SWAPO Broadcasting Corporation" (New Era 2009). This illustrates the dominance of Swapo in the Namibian political scene. Furthermore, a recent survey conducted by the Institute of Public Policy Research anticipates this dominance to continue: the survey predicted that Swapo will retain its dominance in the electoral landscape, while the latest opposition party, the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), will become the official opposition come the elections expected in late 2009 (Institute for Public Policy Research 2009, 4).
Economically, the country has also made significant strides. With a 2008 per capita income of US$3&584, the World Bank considers Namibia a middle-income country. The Namibian economy is dominated by the primary sector, with mining the major contributor to the economy. The tourism sector, which caters for and targets high-end tourists, has seen steady growth. With unemployment estimated to be around 40 per cent, job creation remains one of the most daunting economic challenges for government. The vexing question of land redistribution remains another economic challenge. Socially, Namibia, like most of Southern Africa, continues to be hard hit by the Aids crisis. It has a prevalence rate of more than 15 per cent of the adult population (WHO 2008).
References
BAUER, G #38; TAYLOR, S 2005, Politics in Southern Africa: State and Society in Transition, London, Lynne Rienner Publishers.
INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH 2009 "Namibia: Political Party Prospects Leading to the 2009 Elections", March.
NEW ERA 2009 "NBC is a 'SWAPO Broadcasting Corporation' - NUDO", 30 July.
WHO 2008 "Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV and AIDS Core data on epidemiology and response", [www] http://www.who.int/globalatlas/predefinedReports/EFS2008/full/EFS2008_NA.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
