Nepru closes shop

THE Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (Nepru), once the flagship research organisation in the country, was forced to close shop, ending about two decades of its existence.

Negligence in the administrative and financial running of the institution has been reported as the main reason for donors pulling out, leaving Nepru with no funds to pay salaries and fund research projects.Yesterday Nepru chairman Zed Ngavirue confirmed the closure, saying that the organisation had started winding down its operations in August last year already. He added that the institution would remain closed ‘until we find a way to deal with issues’.Things started falling apart early last year when Nepru failed to pay its 10 staff members’ January salaries despite having announced new funding a month earlier.The Namibian was reliably informed that the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), which was Nepru’s main source of funding since 1994, pulled the plug on Nepru in 2009.The Namibian was informed that ACBF blocked the funding because Nepru failed to submit financial reports for about five years.The ACBF also wanted a Namibian team running Nepru and a Namibian financial manager. Nepru phased out all non-African expatriates and appointed a Namibian director in 2009, but the director soon clashed with the donors, resulting in the European Union allegedly also pulling out despite having made N$17 million available for Nepru research projects.A source close to Nepru said the funding was there but Nepru could not access the money due to failure to report back to the ACBF, which is based in Harare, Zimbabwe.Ngavirue felt that the organisation could have been saved if it had a State subsidy or funding like other similar organisations in southern Africa. A Government source said Nepru last year even proposed that it should get first refusal of all Government research projects. The idea is said to have been shot down, but some in Government believe that Government should bail out the battling research institution. Some even feel Nepru should become a parastatal. The sentiment is derived from the fact that Nepru was a Swapo brainchild, and was set up by the Swapo Chief Whip in the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, in 1990 with assistance from the governments of Sweden and Norway. The institution has been having financial difficulties since the late 1990s and almost collapsed in 2006.Katjavivi, who is no longer directly involved in Nepru, said he ‘was not ready to give up on Nepru yet.’ He said he was going to consult with some of the stakeholders in the hope that the institution can be resuscitated in some form or another.

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