“This country report presents an overview of Namibia based on the most recent socio-economic data, such as comprehensive expenditure data culled from the 2003/2004
Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (NHIES), the 2nd Millennium Development Goals Report Namibia of September 2008, and the more recently published Regional Poverty Profiles by the National Planning Commission (NPC) of 2008. For each of the 13 administrative regions, data collected during the period October 2005 to February 2006 have been considered. Finally, for an integrated assessment of poverty and inequality in Namibia, the November 2007 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study by Levine and
Roberts, and the October 2008 National Planning Commission report titled A Review of
Poverty and Inequality in Namibia, have been consulted. Based on background material, the paper presents findings and results in respect of four key issues. These are:
Household socio-economic changes, The impact of democracy in Namibia, Social development changes including in-service delivery, more especially in the provision of basic services, education, health and welfare,
Political changes in the structure of government, perceptions of political
accountability, perceptions of style of government and the relationship between
citizens and government, and perceptions on popular participation in governance, other issues of relevance and importance to the enquiry. The report culminates in a distilled consideration of the above issues and draws on the trends in the life of the young democracy to offer a closely reasoned conclusion.”
