By Tio Nakasole
The interplay between well-crafted policies and economic growth exert a significant influence of governance in achieving long term national progress.
A well governed society is where there is an, an equal participation by all citizens, economic stability, an independent and an impartial judicial system, and thoughtful consideration of national development policies accelerate economic growth when both the public and private sector’s roles in the society converge.
Over the past years, the Namibian economic growth has been supported by long-term political stability, prudent macroeconomic management, and relatively effective governance.
Despite a plethora of positive indicators, economic expansion has not translated into a corresponding reduction in unemployment, nor has it resulted in sufficient economic diversification.
The development planning landscape in Namibia has been that of intricate and multifaceted but not integrated, a reflection of its history, continued contemporary socio-economic challenges and jaded aspirations of its people.
High unemployment, elevated income inequality and persistent rise in cost of living are real and have exasperated social dissatisfactions and continued to flag the country’s risk socially.
Development Path
Picture Namibia’s policy configuration as a road. NDP6 IMEP, under Vision 2030, Regional Development Plans and Local Authority Planning, and the Decentralisation policy, all commits to Namibia’s development planning landscape.
Their aim is to provide the overarching framework for implementing government policies and programmes between 2025/26 and 2029/30.
To accelerate human development in communities, promote a competent public service, maintain a competitive development environment , improve citizen satisfaction and achieve sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all Namibians.
Since independence the country has witnessed efforts to establish and implement policies and development frameworks aimed at promoting national development.
Policy interventions are made but the structural rigidity of the economy seems failing to rise everyone above.
Namibia has no policy deficit in entering the road to prosperity, it has a manual policy execution problem in taking itself to that destination.
Ignoring will not make it disappear but to resurface. If you walk into any ministry, you will find voluminous lists of strategies, task team reports, Auditor-General findings, Ombudsman recommendations and anti-corruption referrals, well assorted many of which are technically sound but remain unimplemented.
There is a plethora of policy recommendations and regulations, but it can be argued that state institutions have, over time, become a cemetery of policies, since the same policies intended for a good course are being ignored and not being monitored and evaluated.
If businesses continue as usual, the newest vehicles intended to drive and support national development are likely to face the identical junction, curtail the multiplier effects and may only eventually benefit the connected few elites.
At face value, Namibia’s offshore discoveries, such as TotalEnergies’s Venus discovery , BW Energy’s Kudu project and the roughly US$10 billion Hyphen green hydrogen scheme, there is no doubt, they are premier Special Purpose Vehicles to a more industrialised economy.
While raising local content requirements and the state’s stake in upstream licences, securing property’s rights.
A government that live by its own rules and enforce legal framework is not only a strategic differentiator, but that is what convert resource wealth into lasting prosperity.
Where the Stall Lies
First, it contains the people factor, which comprises leadership and political will, or the absence thereof.
For instance, the NSA, the ACC, the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman and parliamentary standing committees all provide sound findings, but none has the authority to compel action once a report is tabled.
Given their essential role in society, the unwillingness to implement recommendations creates a political economy of inefficiency.
Public officials allow reforms to be pushed publicly, while quietly ensuring they remain unimplemented behind closed doors. Namibia’s own experience with stalled SOE reforms over the past year resurface unaddressed year after year. The primary determinant of execution is its leadership, who should be the driver.
Second, not fit-for-purpose recommendations. Institutional settings can make a nation to prosper or stagnate, not their geography nor culture.
In addition, copied templates and generic framework extracted elsewhere and dipped into an environment without any proper modus-operandi in terms of implementation and funding, fuel toothless policy and policy mismatch.
Namibia’s regulation on property right on sector such as agriculture, mining and construction is not well defined and a lack of enforcement and compliant may crudely collided everything.
Natural resources endowments are only likely to improve policy targets on social challenges, when they are well defined and enforceable property rights, as demonstrated by the Norwegian model.
Mining being the most lucrative and attractive industry in Namibia for investors, that regulatory loophole may undercut our policy objectives.
Thirdly, timing lag. Too often, the recommendations and reports tell what is needed. The missing question of when is often omitted, which often leads to a cul-de-sac destination.
Two separate factors are crucial: the sequencing of policies and the speed at which they are being introduced and implemented.
The fourth puzzle that remains unaddressed is the enormity of focus. Efforts towards a reform in a particular sector that are not selective and do not focus on the binding constraints can slow down the policy outcomes.
Governments must avoid the temptation to implement not only the uncontroversial policies but instead focus their attention where the need is greatest.
This makes it crucial to refrain from the failed models and invite the recognition of the country’s uniqueness and take more rigorous economic analysis.
Off-ramp
The cost of doing nothing is a cost. Here is what could pave the way for meaningful progress within a decade. First, require every accounting officer and ministry carrying an NDP6 target to report, on a fixed schedule, which recommendations moved and which stalled.
Second, price the cost of gridlock: Treasury often asks what reform costs but never what standing still costs, though every year an impactful policy idles is a year measured in real family hardship.
Third, fuel the vehicle before it leaves the yard: no cabinet paper should be approved without a costed plan, a named budget source and a stated consequence for non-allocation.
Fourth, give a every driver a handover note: outgoing officials should be legally required to record what was already moving, so sound strategy survives a change of a driver.
These policy constraints are not atypical to Namibia only, valuable lessons from international examples like South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, emphasise strong leadership, integrated planning, evidence-based policies, and robust public- private partnership.
To further enhance its developmental agenda, Namibia should consider strengthening centralised planning, enhancing institutional capacity and collaboration, data driven decision making through institutions such the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA), Bank of Namibia and International Monetary Fund (IMF), ensuring comprehensive monitoring and evaluation over time, incorporating relevant global best practices.
By focusing on these far-reaching policy reform, Namibia can significantly enhance its development agenda, that is more integrated, efficient, and responsive to the needs of its people.
The successful implementation of these reforms requires commitment, collaboration and a willingness to adapt and learn continuously.
Tio Nakasole, Analyst at Monasa Advisory and Associates, writes on Governance, Public Administration and Investment landscape. The views expressed do not represent those of his employer. -theoerastus@gmail.com
