CALL FOR ACTION A Review of Critical Issues for the APRM Process in Namibia

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of Namibia's governance, highlighting systemic challenges such as executive dominance over the legislature, persistent poverty and inequality, and a lack of transparency. It offers specific policy recommendations across 13 key areas, including corruption, youth unemployment, education, healthcare, gender-based violence, land reform, and environmental sustainability, to support the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process.

• Namibia's political system is characterized by executive dominance, where the fusion of powers allows the Executive to control the legislative agenda, as more than half of all Members of Parliament are simultaneously members of the Executive.
• Corruption remains a significant issue despite official rhetoric; the report notes a perceived failure of the Anti-Corruption Commission to target high-level offenders and a slow judicial system where some cases have lasted over ten years.
• Poverty and inequality are deep and persistent, with a Gini coefficient of 0.56 as of 2015/2016, placing Namibia among the most unequal countries in the world.
• Youth unemployment is critical, reaching 60% among 15-24-year-olds, driven by a mismatch between educational profiles and labour market demands.
• The education system suffers from low quality and high dropout rates, particularly in rural areas where only 49% of first graders reach Grade 5; additionally, over 20% of schools lack toilets and water supply.
• Public healthcare is plagued by staff and equipment shortages, and the government has failed to meet the 2001 Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15% of the total budget to health.
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is widespread, with one in three women experiencing it in their lifetime, and implementation of existing legal frameworks remains a major challenge.
• Land reform is slow, with 70% of commercial farmland still owned by white farmers, and the 'Red Line' (Veterinary Cordon Fence) continues to limit the economic potential of communal farmlands.
• Corporate governance in the public sector is described as poor to appalling for the majority of state-owned enterprises, while private sector adoption of governance codes like NamCode remains low.
• Namibia lacks a formal Access to Information (ATI) law, which hinders transparency and the ability of citizens to hold the government accountable.
• There is a systemic failure in policy implementation, where high-quality policies are developed but not executed, often due to a culture of complacency and lack of accountability within the Executive.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). CALL FOR ACTION A Review of Critical Issues for the APRM Process in Namibia. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/APRM-report-final-draft.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. CALL FOR ACTION A Review of Critical Issues for the APRM Process in Namibia. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/APRM-report-final-draft.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=CALL FOR ACTION A Review of Critical Issues for the APRM Process in Namibia |date=June 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/APRM-report-final-draft.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019call, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{CALL FOR ACTION A Review of Critical Issues for the APRM Process in Namibia}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/APRM-report-final-draft.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }