Trust in government dwindles

A majority of Namibians (76%) believe the country is moving in the wrong direction, a three-fold increase since 2014, an Afrobarometer survey among Namibians has found.Moreover, popular trust in and performance ratings of the president, prime minister and ruling party has likewise weakened.Only 27% say the government is handling economic management "fairly well" or "very well," down from 66% recorded in a 2014 Afrobarometer survey in Namibia.Even fewer approve of the government’s performance on keeping prices stable (23%), improving the living standards of the poor (23%), narrowing gaps between rich and poor (17%), and creating jobs (15%), all down sharply from assessments in 2014.Unemployment ranks highest among the most important problems that Namibians want their government to address (61%), followed by water supply (22%), and corruption (20%).Losing directionThe Afrobarometer report, titled ‘Namibians lack confidence in economy, express rising dissatisfaction with government’, examined Namibians’ changing views on the country’s economic trajectory alongside evolving public support for its ruling party."Since 2017 – and especially since 2019 – Namibians have expressed significantly more pessimistic views on the country’s general direction and economic condition, as well as their personal living conditions. Unemployment remains by far the most salient issue for Namibian voters. Meanwhile, popular evaluations of government performance have become significantly more negative, and approval of, closeness to, trust in, and support for Swapo and its national leadership have plummeted."The survey found that the proportion of Namibians who say the country is going in the wrong direction is highest among urban residents (79%), respondents between the ages of 26 and 35 (81%), those with a post-secondary education (80%), and poor citizens (85%).Both a majority of women (77%) and men (76%) agree that the country is heading in the wrong direction.Only 22% of Namibians believe that the country is moving in the right direction, compared to 72% of Namibians surveyed in 2012.Lack of confidenceTwo-thirds (67%) of citizens describe their country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad,” while more than half (52%) say the same about their personal living conditions.Only 9% said the economy is doing "very good" and 15% said it is doing fairly well.The report noted that "this is a slight improvement compared to 2019" but noted that "in every survey conducted before 2017, a majority of citizens indicated that the country’s economic condition was good."Track recordThe proportion of Namibians who trust Swapo "a lot" has dropped by more than half since 2014, from 42% to 17%. The same is true for strong trust in the president (from 56% to 26%) and the prime minister (from 50% to 18%).Similarly, performance ratings for the president and prime minister have declined sharply over the past eight years. A slim majority (54%) of citizens still say President Hage Geingob is doing a "fairly" or "very" good job, but this proportion has been decreasing consistently since 2014. On the other hand, 43% of Namibians said they disapprove or strongly disapprove of the president’s job performance.

Trust in government dwindles

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-16

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Trust in government dwindles

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-16

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