Voting whether Namibia is a ‘shining example’

IS the score ten out of ten for democracy, as Namibia emerges from its teens? Since free speech and exchanging ideas are core to a strong and durable democracy, a good way to check Namibia’s progress was a debate last Thursday night in the historic chambers of Britain’s Houses of Parliament.

The motion before the House in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association room off a very venerable stone hall had a finely nuanced title: ‘This House believes that Namibia is a shining example of post-colonial peace, democracy, and development’. The event was jointly organised by the Royal African Society and the Friends of Namibia Society and nearly 70 Namib-o-philes braved a chill, damp evening to hear from the land of the brave.Opening the floor, speaking for the motion, was a living testimony to the truth of her cause. UK-trained lawyer Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi, Managing Director of Namdeb, gave a confident and competent run-down of two decades of achievements. She highlighted success in economic management and building solid democratic institutions. She spoke of diversifying the economy and high competitiveness scores for infrastructure, stability and financial market sophistication. She also described a well-functioning democracy, equipped with checks and balances, where ‘… the rule of law remains the highest-prized gain since our independence’ and civil society and media are vibrant. A 2009 review of progress towards Millennium Development Goal targets showed Namibia on track to reaching many MDGs by 2012, three years ahead of target. She told of a land of inclusiveness, accountability and prudence, but warned citizens not to rest on their laurels while development challenges remain.Henning Melber, Executive Director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in Uppsala, Sweden, a Namibian who joined Swapo in 1974, said he took his role opposing the motion with a heavy heart. He agreed that Namibia is democratic, his proof the fact that he could criticise as he does and still return freely home. He challenged whether Namibia can be called a ‘shining example’ when it comes to peace, democracy and development. He felt Namibia was not living up to its Independence promise because: ‘We remain among the most unequal societies in the world. Our structurally-embedded poverty has increased’. Unemployment at over 50 per cent is higher than ever and considering per capita income levels, more could have been achieved to boost Namibia’s human development scores.He explained the inequality: ‘The biggest part of the cake is shared by a minority, while the majority remains hungry’ and focused on ‘fat cats’ who joined the elite and benefit from ‘publicly controlled resources, financial scandals, corruption and abuse of opportunities’. He also spoke passionately about domestic and other violence and the ‘political prisoners’ of the Caprivi trial.The measured tones of Professor David Simon, Head of the Geography Department of Royal Holloway, University of London, were next, in support of the shininess of Namibia’s democracy. He pointed to stability, economic diversity, foreign investment and human development. He listed gains such as access to water, education and health in North and South, that social inequality had not got worse, improved life expectancy and ‘outstanding improvement’ in adult literacy to 88 per cent. He was excited that Namibia braved one of Africa’s first bids for devolution or decentralisation and commented: ‘The system is right, but the resources have not been allocated.’ He said Namibia had confounded pre-independence sceptics and showed the way for other parts of southern Africa because of skilful leadership and attitude of ‘give and take’ in reaching peaceful solutions.Namibian journalist Tangeni Amupadhi, Editor of Insight magazine, was second to oppose the motion. A joke about hardware sales after the Father of the Nation suggested hammering whites left the British audience bemused. He described how many Namibians are increasingly against dissenting opinions and cited torture of prisoners, using economics to choke independent voices, hate speech and even a story of a father pulling a gun on a son who joined another party. The Government’s advertising boycott of The Namibian remains a prime example of attacks on free media. Solidarity was a watchword of Namibia’s independence but now it means solidarity amongst the rich. ‘Our beautiful, beloved Namibia deserves better, we should aim to be the best’.Questions from the floor supported both views. They covered the technical dismissal of the recent court case alleging election wrongs, poverty, anecdotes of rural people flourishing, Namibia’s fine legal training, and the joys and benefits of many years of taking groups of British youngsters to travel and interact with Namibian youth. High Commissioner George Liswaniso took the floor to support the motion after thanking many of those in the room for solidarity and support since the dark pre-independence. He pointed to the Constitution, reconciliation, peace and advances in gender equality and health care, among others.One top scorer was debate chairwoman Oona King, Head of Diversity at television Channel 4, a former East London MP who is a broadcaster, writer and political campaigner. She displayed the charm and skills that had got her elected as the UK’s second woman MP of African descent and kept the debate on-time, on topic and cheerful. Sponsors included Diageo Africa – including tasty Windhoek Lager for thirsty debaters, Canon Collins Trust, The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, Kalahari Minerals and Extract Resources. As usual in the Houses of Parliament, voting was required to conclude. Namibia’s score was: Abstentions 17, for the motion 22 and against it 24.Verdict: No speaker disputed whether Namibia was democratic, and all agreed that there remain challenges. The vote was remarkably close, and paradoxically perhaps it was the excessive zeal of two speakers from the floor in support, who could not understand how anyone could speak against such a motion, that led waverers to wonder if tolerance and free debate are as widely accepted as they should be.

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