Spotlighting Governance Challenges: Lessons from Namibia

The document details the efforts of the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) to support Namibian civil society organisations (CSOs) in engaging with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Following Namibia's accession to the APRM in January 2017, CSOs formed a working group in 2018 to identify 13 critical governance issues and produce a written submission presented on 21 June 2019. The brief outlines ten lessons for other countries, emphasizing the need for early familiarity with the APRM, strategic issue selection, government engagement to build trust, and the use of peer learning from other states. It concludes that the process not only pressured the Namibian government to accelerate its national APRM process but also led to the creation of 'Civic +264', a new information hub for civil society coordination.

• Namibia joined the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in January 2017, providing civil society organisations (CSOs) an opportunity to influence government plans and highlight governance issues.
• The proactive development of the CSO submission accelerated the Namibian government's own APRM timeline, specifically triggering the APRM Advance Mission on 10–11 September 2018.
• The APRM process served as a catalyst for improving collaboration among Namibian CSOs, which had previously been fragmented or isolated due to funding constraints and a contracting civic space.
• The experience in Namibia led to the establishment of 'Civic +264', a voluntary association and information hub managed by several organisations including the IPPR and Namibia Media Trust to coordinate civil society engagement.
• The document recommends that CSOs in newly-acceded countries, such as Botswana and Zimbabwe, utilize peer learning by drawing on the experiences of other states that have already undergone the APRM process.

APA

GRUZD, S., & HOPWOOD, G. (2019). Spotlighting Governance Challenges: Lessons from Namibia. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PI-73-AGDP-gruzd-hopwood-FINAL-WEB_final.pdf

Chicago

GRUZD, STEVEN, and GRAHAM HOPWOOD. Spotlighting Governance Challenges: Lessons from Namibia. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PI-73-AGDP-gruzd-hopwood-FINAL-WEB_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=GRUZD |first1=STEVEN |last2=HOPWOOD |first2=GRAHAM |title=Spotlighting Governance Challenges: Lessons from Namibia |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PI-73-AGDP-gruzd-hopwood-FINAL-WEB_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gruzd2019spotlighting, author = {GRUZD, STEVEN and HOPWOOD, GRAHAM}, title = {{Spotlighting Governance Challenges: Lessons from Namibia}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PI-73-AGDP-gruzd-hopwood-FINAL-WEB_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }