Namibia
Namibia: baseline information
Republic of Namibia
Population [WHO 2006]: 2 million
Annual population growth [WHO 2006]: 2.3 %
HDI (and rank out of 177) [UN 2005]: 0.627 (125th)
Life expectancy at birth [WHO 2006]: 54 years
Currency: Namibian Dollar
Main exports: diamonds. copper, gold, zinc, lead, uranium, livestock
Capital city: Windhoek
Provinces/ districts: 13 provinces (Caprivi, Erongo, Hardap, Karas, Kavango, Khomas, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa)
Links to more Namibia resources
Background
(a) Social, economic and political
Namibia has a progressive constitution and is a multi-party democracy. However, the political dominance of the ruling SWAPO Party persists as shown during the 2004 elections held on the 15 and 16 November. SWAPO won the National Assembly vote with 76 % support, giving the party 55 seats − exactly the same as it held in the 2000-2005 parliament − out of the 72 available. SWAPO has seen its support in the country rise from 57 % in the 1989 UN-supervised elections to 76 % in the 1999 ballot. This dominance by SWAPO is attributed to the opposition parties struggle to present themselves as credible alternatives.
Furthermore, the ruling party is still able to capitalise on its image as the victors of the liberation struggle, a record of steady, if unremarkable economic growth and public spending that has largely focused on health and education. In contrast to SWAPO’s fortunes, the main opposition party in 1989, the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), has seen its share of the vote dwindle from 29 % in 1989 to 5 % in 2004. The DTA has never been able to shake off its image as a puppet of the South African colonial regime prior to independence and in 2003 saw two of its founding members − the Republican Party (RP) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) − peel away to contest these elections on their own.
SWAPO, RDP to lock horns at Omuthiya
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
New kid on the block in Namibian politics, Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) will gauge its popularity for the first time when it contests the local authority elections scheduled for Omuthiya next week. The RDP together with the ruling Swapo Party, Congress of Democrats (CoD) and DTA of Namibia, will contest the seven local authority seats, which came into existence after Omuthyia was declared a town. Fierce campaigns involving Swapo Party and the RDP have been witnessed at the northern town since the beginning of the year and more rallies are expected this weekend as parties make their final pleas to the voters before the elections on February 29. The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has registered 1598 voters and the election will be held according to proportional representation. All four parties have submitted seven candidates each to ECN ... There will be five fixed polling stations and two mobile teams. Fixed polling stations will be at Omuthiya Church, Onakasino J P School, Onashikuvu Primary School, Iipumbu Junior Secondary School and Omuthiya Engen Service Station. One mobile team will be at Onamulenga Lodge, Okashana Research Centre, Ekulo Senior Secondary School and Uupeleki. The second mobile team will be at Onyeka Church, AFM Church Omuthiya and Ondiika ...
Key witness grilled in Namibian copper case
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
A Key prosecution witness in the Telecom Namibia scrap copper corruption trial is set to face a fifth day of cross-examination when the trial continues in the High Court in Windhoek today. Having endured five days of defence lawyer Willie Vermeulen, SC, dissecting and whittling down the testimony he has been giving before Judge
Rio-Tinto sees Namibia uranium expansion
Reuters - USA
CAPE TOWN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Mining giant Rio Tinto Plc (RIO. L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday that it hoped to complete its expansion of its Rossing uranium operations in Namibia later this year. "We also have expansion projects (at Rossing) that we hope to come to fruition later this year," Preston Chiaro, chief
Namibia: ECN to probe RDP allegations
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) says it takes serious exception to allegations made that the Swapo Party members were selected to work as registration officials for persons who supposedly are supporters of other political parties. The Director of the ECN, Philemon Kanime, said the allegations are receiving attention at the highest level and the ECN will investigate
Namibia considers water subsidies
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
The Namibian government, frequently accused of making water unaffordable to the poor, is finally taking steps to address this countrywide problem that threatens to hamper the country's efforts to meet the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by world leaders at a special United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2000. The government is considering the viability of including water subsidies for poorer families in a new development plan set to begin in April 2008. "I first have to buy a card that I put in the meter box to draw out water. I don't always have money for this and sometimes the money in the card just runs out before I can fetch enough for my family's daily use," Babakie Goreses told IPS. Goreses is one of several thousand residents of the 'informal' Babylon settlement in Windhoek's sprawling suburb of Katutura ... The latest statistics show that 40 percent of Namibia's two million people currently live below the poverty line of one dollar per day. Seventy-nine percent of rural households do not have proper sanitation, and 20 percent of the rural population does not have access to safe drinking water ...
Namibia celebrates Constitution Day
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
February 9 is Constitution Day, which will be celebrated tomorrow. New Era looks at how the supreme law has been embraced - or not - by the people and public institutions of the country. "We have never read the Namibian Constitution," said two young adults when approached on the street. A middle-aged man did not know what a constitution is, let alone that the country has a constitution. The responses from a number of ordinary citizens on the constitution were mixed - from being positive about the changes that have taken place since independence with the Constitution acting as the supreme law, pegging out the rights and responsibilities of the citizenry, to disenchantment. "The Constitution gives us the right to speak our minds," said one gentleman, who preferred not to give his name ... "The Constitution is often not implemented to the fullest," said car guard, Fritz Jahs. "There is too much poverty, unemployment, nepotism and corruption in the country. You have those who benefit from the Constitution, and others not." A woman, also preferring anonymity, said: "The Constitution is upheld by the Government to some extent. Not all benefit equally." ... Chris Mouton said: "It is a good Constitution, but whether it is correctly implemented, is another story ... These worrying comments belie the fact that the Namibian Constitution is considered as a "shining example" and one of the most progressive in the world ... What such comments imply is that there has not yet been a transfer from 'constitutionalising' a new Namibia 18 years ago and making it so ...
Namibian school fees: caution urged
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
"The suggestion that school fees in Namibia be abolished can only become a reality if the Government increases the per capita funding of learners in all the regions in the country." This was the response to a proposal contained last week in a UNICEF report, by the Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN). "By now it is common knowledge that education is
Namibia: maternal death rate doubles
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
Namibia is experiencing reversals on child, infant and maternal health despite being one of the leading countries in reporting progress on child survival. Infant and under-five mortality rates have increased, while the number of women who die during pregnancy, delivery or shortly after giving birth has doubled ... The data that the Ministry of Health and Social