The Sad State of Namibian Democracy

SEVENTEEN years down Independence Road (let’s not call it Avenue given the modest advances), things do not look too good for the Namibian democracy we believed we had secured.

The internal strife in the former liberation movement and the notorious interventions of the infamous Ananias – who manages to attain almost celebrity status with his nonsensical obstructions instead of being thrown on the rubbish heap – are just one example. The ongoing decline of any meaningful organised political opposition outside of Swapo (if it had been meaningful at all so far) – as witnessed in the recent CoD saga – is just another complementing aspect.Add Joe Diescho’s experience earlier this year, the havoc caused by Phil ya Nangolo’s vendetta against all who disagree with his own strong views, the ‘kill all whites’ slogan’s reappearance and the censorship against the call-in programmes of the NBC (as well as the abuse of such forums by some of those calling in), we seem to have achieved little to be proud of, at least in terms of our (lack of) democratic achievements.Let’s turn to the latest scandal, which offers an interesting (and most worrying) twist in this context: Wallie Roux, economic analyst with Meatco, has been suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing (with the possible result of his dismissal) for publishing articles critical of the negotiations with the European Union (EU) over the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) negotiations.Mind you: not that Mr Roux had any obscure things to say.Ever since I was able to follow his articles (must have been since 2005 or so), they were of a partisan nature in a patriotic sense.Not that I am much in favour of patriotism.But arguing the case for the macro-economic gains of your own country and its people is for me a legitimate patriotic act.Mr Roux did nothing else.His analyses were often spot-on and acknowledged also far abroad.Not that he was/is a lonely caller in the desert.There is a Europe-wide ‘Stop EPA’ campaign, which provides very similar analytically based concerns as those Mr Roux articulated from a Namibian perspective.Oxfam and ActionAid in the UK, VENRO in Germany, church organisations and many more well-established NGOs have closed ranks in critical alliance against what the EU trade department continues to promote against all odds (even against criticism from within other departments of the Brussels bureaucracy – not to mention the many critical voices represented in the EU Parliament on this issue).I am afraid it is not particularly helpful for Mr Roux to mention that I myself published on several occasions with The Nordic Africa Institute warnings and concerns regarding the EPA policy pursued by the EU trade department.These match – like the views of many other critical observers – to a large extent his own reservations.I simply add this since the institution, which provided the means for publication, is itself anything but obscure (even if some people might think that I am)… Mr Roux deserves to be applauded for his critical analyses.They contribute to a decision-making process which requires anything but a rushed and imposed result.There is a strong initiative by concerned NGOs in the EU (some of them listed above) to convince the Brussels administration that there is absolutely no need to bully through a one-sided arrangement without in the first place acknowledging the own European interests attached to this agenda.A recent EPA workshop I attended in Berlin overwhelmingly shared this concern with representatives of the EU and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation.African civil society representatives have just submitted a similar appeal to the EU.It was prominently circulated at the EU-Africa Summit and hence can claim some weight.Mr Roux is simply one among the many competent and concerned voices.It is almost ironical that Meatco would want to silence him for his views on a EU initiative.The same EU, whose policy links development aid to notions like democracy and human rights, subsumed lately under the term good governance.This concept includes the freedom of expression as a contributing factor to transparency and accountability to seek best practices.Would it be too much to expect the local EU office to support Mr Roux’s entitlement (also in terms of professional ethics) to exercise in his personal capacity (not as official Meatco representative) such responsibly practised right to offer warning views on the current state of negotiations and their likely implications for Namibian interests? The EU representatives might argue that this could be seen as an undue interference in Namibian affairs.Let them be reminded that EPAs are no neutral tool but interference too.Even more so is the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative a kind of interference, and rightly so.After all, it seeks to promote good governance – so does Mr Roux in his way.The latest victim of democracy the Namibian way is not only Wallie Roux.It is once again the wider notion of freedom of expression as integral part of good governance.This is a postulate actively promoted by the EU.Is it just naïve wishful thinking to hope that the local EU office reminds Meatco that the Wallie Rouxs in this country (who have many different names, pigmentations, and social and cultural backgrounds) are an integral and desirable part of capacity building, who add to the positive image of a country both at home and abroad? If the example set by Meatco is the dominant currency in Namibia (and it seems to be the case – just remember the other examples listed at the beginning), then I am afraid we have less and less to celebrate at our forthcoming Independence Days.It is not only Mr Roux who is a victim in this latest episode.It is Namibian democracy.That means most of the ordinary citizens.* Dr Henning Melber was Director of the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) between 1992 and 2000.The ongoing decline of any meaningful organised political opposition outside of Swapo (if it had been meaningful at all so far) – as witnessed in the recent CoD saga – is just another complementing aspect.Add Joe Diescho’s experience earlier this year, the havoc caused by Phil ya Nangolo’s vendetta against all who disagree with his own strong views, the ‘kill all whites’ slogan’s reappearance and the censorship against the call-in programmes of the NBC (as well as the abuse of such forums by some of those calling in), we seem to have achieved little to be proud of, at least in terms of our (lack of) democratic achievements.Let’s turn to the latest scandal, which offers an interesting (and most worrying) twist in this context: Wallie Roux, economic analyst with Meatco, has been suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing (with the possible result of his dismissal) for publishing articles critical of the negotiations with the European Union (EU) over the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) negotiations.Mind you: not that Mr Roux had any obscure things to say.Ever since I was able to follow his articles (must have been since 2005 or so), they were of a partisan nature in a patriotic sense.Not that I am much in favour of patriotism.But arguing the case for the macro-economic gains of your own country and its people is for me a legitimate patriotic act.Mr Roux did nothing else.His analyses were often spot-on and acknowledged also far abroad.Not that he was/is a lonely caller in the desert.There is a Europe-wide ‘Stop EPA’ campaign, which provides very similar analytically based concerns as those Mr Roux articulated from a Namibian perspective.Oxfam and ActionAid in the UK, VENRO in Germany, church organisations and many more well-established NGOs have closed ranks in critical alliance against what the EU trade department continues to promote against all odds (even against criticism from within other departments of the Brussels bureaucracy – not to mention the many critical voices represented in the EU Parliament on this issue).I am afraid it is not particularly helpful for Mr Roux to mention that I myself published on several occasions with The Nordic Africa Institute warnings and concerns regarding the EPA policy pursued by the EU trade department.These match – like the views of many other critical observers – to a large extent his own reservations.I simply add this since the institution, which provided the means for publication, is itself anything but obscure (even if some people might think that I am)… Mr Roux deserves to be applauded for his critical analyses.They contribute to a decision-making process which requires anything but a rushed and imposed result.There is a strong initiative by concerned NGOs in the EU (some of them listed above) to convince the Brussels administration that there is absolutely no need to bully through a one-sided arrangement without in the first place acknowledging the own European interests attached to this agenda.A recent EPA workshop I attended in Berlin overwhelmingly shared this concern with representatives of the EU and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation.African civil society representatives have just submitted a similar appeal to the EU.It was prominently circulated at the EU-Africa Summit and hence can claim some weight.Mr Roux is simply one among the many competent and concerned voices.It is almost ironical that Meatco would want to silence him for his views on a EU initiative.The same EU, whose policy links development aid to notions like democracy and human rights, subsumed lately under the term good governance.This concept includes the freedom of expression as a contributing factor to transparency and accountability to seek best practices. Would it be too much to expect the local EU office to support Mr Roux’s entitlement (also in terms of professional ethics) to exercise in his personal capacity (not as official Meatco representative) such responsibly practised right to offer warning views on the current state of negotiations and their likely implications for Namibian interests? The EU representatives might argue that this could be seen as an undue interference in Namibian affairs.Let them be reminded that EPAs are no neutral tool but interference too.Even more so is the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative a kind of interference, and rightly so.After all, it seeks to promote good governance – so does Mr Roux in his way.The latest victim of democracy the Namibian way is not only Wallie Roux.It is once again the wider notion of freedom of expression as integral part of good governance.This is a postulate actively promoted by the EU.Is it just naïve wishful thinking to hope that the local EU office reminds Meatco that the Wallie Rouxs in this country (who have many different names, pigmentations, and social and cultural backgrounds) are an integral and desirable part of capacity building, who add to the positive image of a country both at home and abroad? If the example set by Meatco is the dominant currency in Namibia (and it seems to be the case – just remember the other examples listed at the beginning), then I am afraid we have less and less to celebrate at our forthcoming Independence Days.It is not only Mr Roux who is a victim in this latest episode.It is Namibian democracy.That means most of the ordinary citizens.* Dr Henning Melber was Director of the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) between 1992 and 2000.