Boost effectiveness, fight corruption

Although government’s effectiveness, as measured by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Namibian Employers’ Federation (NEF), has improved from 2009 to 2015, its latest score shows there is massive scope for improvement.Government effectiveness in the Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprises (EESE) survey measures the quality of public services, the capacity of the civil service and its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the government’s commitment to such policies. Effectiveness is measured on a scale of -2.5 (worst) to 2.5 (best). Namibia’s score in 2015 was 0.26 – up from 0.13 in 2009.Government effecitiveness is measured as part of good governance in the EESE survey. The EESE report that was launched last year. The survey zoomed in on political, economic, social and environmental situation of the enabling business landscape in Namibia.In the report, Namibia’s performance is compared to that of South Africa, Botswana and Malawi.The absence of corruption also features under good governance.“Key components of good governance are the absence of corruption, and efficient institutions that foster entrepreneurship, promoting private sector growth and development. In general, Namibia performs relatively well when it comes to many aspects of good governance; corruption however is a significant hindrance to progress,” the EESE report states.CorruptionIn the EESE report, control of corruption measures the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain and the extent to which the state is captured by elites and private interests. This indicator is measured on a scale from -2.5 to 2.5 where higher values reflect better governance. Namibia’s estimated control of corruption improved slightly from 0.25 in 2009 to 0.28 in 2015. This is better than Malawi and South Africa, which were at -0.76 and -0.04 in 2015. Botswana does better than the other three at 0.84 for 2015. Namibia’s score on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is better than that of Malawi and South Africa, but not of Botswana. On a scale from 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 10 (“highly clean”), Namibia’s score increased from 4.4 in 2011 to 5.2 in 2016. Botswana registered a score of 6 in the same year, while South Africa and Malawi had scores of 4.5 and 3.1, both seeing improvement over the last few years.In 2016 Namibia ranked 53rd out of 175 countries on the CPI.There are several entities tasked with combating corruption, including the Office of the Prosecutor General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Public Service Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).ACC“The ACC has been criticised for its failure to deal with high-profile cases, and even though the infrastructure to fight corruption exists in Namibia political will is limited,” according to the EESE. The ACC and the Office of the Ombudsman receive and investigate complaints about corruption, often from concerned individuals of the public. A 2016 National Corruption Perception Survey conducted by the ACC showed that 78% of respondents thought corruption was very high in Namibia.“Procurement mechanisms are often irregular, and state resources, in the form of contracts, licenses and concessions are often not allocated through competitive official processes,” the EESE report states. It continues: “Additionally, a very large percentage of Namibia’s senior civil servants are prominent members of Swapo, which leads to conflicts of interest, and the preferential distribution of lucrative tenders, among other questionable results. Legal frameworkPost-independence electoral politics have been dominated by Swapo, and though opposition parties exist they have a very small presence. International observers characterise elections in Namibia as being generally free and fair, and the 2014 elections were carried out in an orderly manner, the EESE report states. “The institutionalisation of Namibia’s viable multiparty political system is threatened by a drift towards the monopoly of one party,” it warns. Related to this is the concentration of power in the executive branch of government, to the detriment of the legislative and judicial arms, the EESE report continues. A functioning legal framework is key to the success of efforts to reduce corruption, it stresses. “The constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The courts in Namibia tend to be relatively independent of the ruling party, but the system is stymied by inefficiency and a lack of resources. Legal processes can take very long,” according to EESE.Civil society Namibia’s Medium-Term Strategic Development Framework for 2000-2005 formalises the roles and functions of civil society actors in national governance and development processes. Some government agencies work alongside civil society organisations (CSOs), particularly at the local level, in order to do things like implement development programmes. CSOs participate in policy discussions, and are active partners in campaigns such as that to end corruption. “In general, however, it appears as if citizen engagement can be challenging: the momentum of mass mobilisation of resistance against authoritarian apartheid rule helped to build progressive democratic institutions but has dissipated in the years following independence,” the EESE report states.Peace and stabilityPeace and political stability are key conditions for the creation and development of sustainable enterprises, the report emphasises.Data on political stability and absence of violence assesses countries’ political stability on a scale from -2.5 to 2.5, where higher values correspond to higher levels of political stability. Among the four countries used in the report for comparison, Namibia has shown relatively high levels of political stability and absence of violence over the years, though the score has deteriorated from 0.90 in 2009 to 0.65 in 2015, possibly due to elections, the report states. Botswana recorded the most stability at 1.03 in 2015. South Africa recorded the least stability in 2015 with an indicator of -0.18, followed by Malawi with - 0.07.KassieThe surveyA total of 683 respondents participated in the survey. Compared to EESE surveys conducted in other African countries, this is an extremely representative sample, according to the ILO. Of the participants, 404 were business owners or partners, 155 were managers and 124 employees. Included were 263 from the SME sector, 206 from large enterprises, 100 from the informal sector. The survey was conducted in Khomas, Erongo, Omusati, Oshana, Kavango East and Oshikoto. 600 of the interviews were conducted face to face. Sectors covered included agriculture, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, tourism, mining, financial services, health and business services.

Boost effectiveness, fight corruption

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-05

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Boost effectiveness, fight corruption

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-05

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