By Kondjeni Ndakeva
Have you ever wondered why some Namibian businesses use awkward domain names like mydomainNAM.com?
You might ask, “Why not just get a .NA domain and avoid all that headache?â€
The truth is, if you are Namibian and want your online presence to instantly reflect that, without room for doubt, the most direct way is through a .NA domain name.
After all, we all want our businesses to look as authentic as possible, just at first glance of our domain names.
But here is the surprise, registering a .NA domain name in Namibia doesn’t come cheap.
A .NA as a first-level domain name (mydomain.na) will cost you more than N$5000.00 per year, while a second-level domain name (mydomain.com.na) will cost you more than N$700.00 per year.
To put that into perspective, in South Africa, businesses can register a second-level.co.za domain for under 200 Rands per year.
Meanwhile, a widely used .COM domain typically costs under 300 Rands per year. Even in the United States, a .US top-level domain costs under $22.73 (N$400) per year.
So why is Namibia’s digital identity priced so far out of reach? The answer lies in the privatisation of Namibian’s .NA top-level domain. In my view, privatising our digital identity is more like privatising our country dialling code (+264) or even Etosha National Park. It feels like handing over a national asset to be exploited for profit.
Some might argue that the domain prices are high due to Namibia’s small market size. But here is the thing. As our population has grown, so have the prices. So that excuse doesn’t hold up.
The real question is this: Why cling to something you can’t manage affordably? Especially when it should be accessible to every Namibian business and citizen.
How did we get here?
This issue dates to 1991, when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) allowed the delegation of Namibia’s .NA top-level domain to a private organisation simply because it met the technical and administrative requirements at the time.
Ironically, current ICANN policies discourage the privatisation of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), recognising their importance as national digital assets. It further states that top-level domains should be operated in the best interest of the country or territory they represent.
Yet, Namibia remains locked into an outdated arrangement that hands control and pricing over to a private entity. ICANN policy requires that top-level domains be managed by entities with the capacity, infrastructure, and control measures necessary to operate them securely and reliably. These technical criteria gave the current registrar an advantage in acquiring control over Namibia’s .NA domain in the early days of the Internet.
Today, that same entity continues to control and monopolise Namibia’s national digital address, with little oversight and at a significant cost to the public.
In the year 1991, Namibia gained its independence from apartheid South Africa, and the Internet was just in its infancy, and domain name management was not fully formalised.
Given the context, it’s understandable that the Namibian government, largely composed of leaders from the liberation struggle, had limited exposure to internet governance or the long-term implications of domain name ownership. At the time, national priorities were focused elsewhere: rebuilding institutions, fostering unity, and laying the foundations for a new nation.
It was under these circumstances that someone benefited from this situation by gaining control of the .NA top-level and reportedly trademarked the .NA domain suffix. This is why the domain is privately owned to date, and prices are ridiculously and exorbitantly high.
Efforts so far
Section 103 of the Communications Act of 2009 stipulates the establishment of the Domain Names Association, which should have all rights necessary for administering the .NA top-level domain.
This should be a government association and fully funded by the government to allow the Namibian nation to gain cheap access to the .NA domain name. Unlike back in 1991, the Namibian government is now capable of managing and controlling the .NA domain.
ICANN also indicates that if a country’s top-level domain is privatised, it may intervene in redelagation disputes. There is no clear public information on whether these efforts have been carried out.
This situation raises important questions about the role and responsibility of the Namibian government. To what extent has the government taken steps to establish a national domain management association? And just as critically, what efforts have been made to ensure that the .NA domain is affordable and accessible to the broader public?
It’s because of these unanswered questions and the lack of transparency on this matter that the government should reclaim control of the .NA top-level domain. Doing so would help ensure that this vital national digital asset becomes affordable and accessible to all Namibians.
What the government can do
The Namibian government must take decisive steps to make the .NA domain is affordable, starting with subsidising its cost and negotiating with the current privateregistrar for a fair transition of control. If talks fail, Parliament should declare the .NA domain as a sovereign national asset and pursue legal avenues to revoke the current license.
In the meantime, as we wait for the government to address this unjust and unaccountable takeover of a national asset, the public must take a stand.
In the meantime, I encourage Namibians to consider boycotting .NA domains until pricing becomes fair, transparent, and truly reflective of our national interest.
*Kondjeni Ndakeva is a data scientist, software developer and database administrator with a master’s degree in data science and writes in his capacity.
