An integrated national strategy for resource and environmental management in post-apartheid Namibia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University

This thesis presents a structure for integrated strategic planning across levels of government in Namibia. The study advocates necessary preconditions for the preparation of An Integrated National Strategy for Resource and Environmental Management in Post-Apartheid Namibia. Because the diagnostic nature of an integrated national strategy requires a condensed assessment of the state of the economy, people, institutions and natural resources, this study commences with a critical examination of the impact of German genocide and South African apartheid policies on the people, and natural and physical resources of Namibia, and illustrates how Namibia has begun to develop out the problems associated with colonial influence. Current underdevelopment and poverty in Namibia is mainly due to unsustainable extraction of resources which has generally benefited South Africa and its provincial satellites. In order to understand Namibia's economic situation, its profile is analysed in comparative study with other SADC member states. Namibia needs to encourage sustained economic growth in order to achieve human development objectives. It is especially important to integrate environmental management at all levels of government to achieve unity of the people and sustainable exploitation of natural and physical resources. Namibia's current state of natural and physical resources is analysed by taking into consideration the immediate actions of the current Government which succeeded colonial oppression. Adverse effects of past exploitation are compiled, and recommendations of various theorists are offered as supportive evidence of the requirements for an integrated national strategy for resource management. The absence of planning at the local level of government is the major cause of inconsistency in both policy-making and plan preparation, and is also identified as major threat to the achievement of sustainable economic development in Namibia. Changes regarding the strengthening of institutional capabilities, application of economic instruments in management of natural resources, methods of plan preparation, strategic policies, including integrated monitoring procedures are proposed. Suggestions are made about means by which these recommendations could be implemented to achieve sustainable development of natural and physical resources in Namibia. The conclusion of this study suggests also that development planning of natural and physical resources need to be nationally diversified by devolving planning authority to sub-national and sub-regional levels of government. The idea is to relieve Namibia's National Planning Commission from the burden of planning at the local level of government and to efficiently spread administrative responsibility across a multinuclear umbrella of private and public sectors involved in strategic planning

Uranium Mining in Namibia: The Mystery Behind 'Low Level Radiation'

This report is the result of a project on uranium mining in Namibia commissioned by the Centre for Research on Multi-national Corporations (SOMO). The findings are based on secondary literature drawn mainly from the writings of Earthlife Namibia and empirical data collected by LaRRI during July and August 2007

Determinants of Stock Market Prices in Namibia

This paper investigates the macroeconomic determinants of stock market prices in Namibia. The investigation was conducted using a VECM econometric methodology and revealed that Namibian stock market prices are chiefly determined by economic activity, interest rates, inflation,money supply and exchange rates. An increase in economic activity and the money supply increases stock market prices, while increases in inflation and interest rates decrease stock prices. The results suggest that equities are not a hedge against inflation in Namibia, and contractionary monetary policy generally depresses stock prices. Increasing economic activity promotes stock market price developmentstock market prices; arbitrage pricing theory; cointegration; impulse reponses; Namibia

Drew Conroy Professor, TSAS, travels to Sub-Saharan Africa

In June and July, I spent 3 weeks in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. These included Kenya, Rwanda, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Namibia. This incredible journey included attending an agricultural forum, visiting an agricultural development project, for which I have been an advisor for some years, checking out sabbatical possibilities in Tanzania and Rwanda, and finally visiting UNH undergraduate student, Alicia Walsh at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, with the financial help of the UNH Center for International Education

The Diffusion of Modern technologies in Namibia

Keywords: Namibia, Regional Development, Innovation Systems, Planning During the last decade, globalisation and modern technologies have engendered as much challenges as opportunities for economies of many states in several respects. This is especially true for less developed countries such as Namibia. With the rapid introduction of new modern technologies and speedy disposal of the old ones; many nation states face a spatial change. Hypothetically, they respond differently to this challenge. Innovation diffusion implies the questions: by what criteria and for whom? Moreover, diffusion suggests a process of making new technologies adopted or made available over a wide geographically defined area. If indeed, there is a diffusion of innovations in Namibia, how is it taking place? In the age of globalisation, is it global forces that are ‘shipping’ new technologies to Namibia? Could it be that innovations are closely tied to the education system and the country’s multicultural set-up? Or, is it people/companies on the move who carry innovations with? And, what is unique about Namibia, regarding this process? This paper is an attempt to discuss the processes of technology and innovation adoptions in the sectors of agriculture, fisheries and mining in Namibia – in the context of regional and local development. The main research questions focus on: Which factors promotes innovations and which ones impedes innovations, and how does local conditions change, accordingly developing an economy from a resource-based to an information society? This work seeks to develop a theory that considers regional and local development as an output of interacting local actors - a kind of ‘Reflective causation’ of development. According to this approach, the spatiality of innovation adoption and the process of transformation are primarily induced by a network of internal forces motivated by history. In this context, history not from a nationalist perspective but from a spatial viewpoint, forms the basis of a nation’s identity and models a country’s economic development. In addition to an earlier hypothesis, other factors: market strategy, demand conditions, structural elements and global forces do not halt development, they broaden and amplify the spatiality of development. The data, which forms the basis of my analysis, will be drawn from key informant interviews from June to September 2002 in the Republic of Namibia.

THE EFFECTS OF FARM PRICE SUPPORT POLICIES: HOW LEVEL IS THE PLAYING FIELD FOR GRAIN PRODUCERS IN NAMIBIA?

In Namibia historically high levels of support to the commercial farm sector have been reduced in recent years in line with general market liberalisation trends. However some support remains. At the same time more attention has been paid to supporting the previously neglected communal sector. The avowed aim of politicians is to ensure that grain producers in Namibia operate “on a level playing fieldâ€. This paper examines to what extent the policy support playing field has been levelled for all major types of grain producer in Namibia. A methodology is introduced for developing a common measure of the effects of price support across grain producers with subsistence and commercial objectives and across scales of operation ranging from 1 hectare to 300 hectares under grain crops. The finding show that the bulk of grain producers in Namibia, who farm most of the grain area, remain seriously disadvantaged compared to the fewer, larger farms. Ongoing discussions on outsourcing government support services to small farmers is likely to result in the playing field becoming more uneven and other compensating measures will need to be taken if politicians and decision makers are serious about “evening the playing field for allâ€.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Economic Development Potential through IP Telephony for Namibia

IP telephony, economic growth, telecommunications, ICT, Granger causality, Namibia

Foreign Labor Trends: Namibia

Foreign Labor Trendsnamibia_2003.pdf: 827 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020