Procurement remains murky
Access to information on government procurement activities remains largely non-transparent despite repeated claims that the new public procurement mechanisms are meant to enhance accountability and transparency.
Namibia should harness the ocean economy to promote growth
In May this year, Debmarine Namibia announced that it will build a state of art diamond recovery ship costing US$ 468 million. The vessel is slated to be operational by the year 2022. When in operation the vessel is expected to harvest 500,000 carats per year. Debmarine, which is a joint venture between Anglo-American and the Namibian Government, has demonstrated its faith in the Ocean economy by continuing to invest in marine diamonds.
Namibia established its Exclusive Economic Zone in 1990 in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
No licence to spy
“It seems clear that Namibia already has formidable and sophisticated communications surveillance capabilities,” states a research paper released yesterday by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), titled ‘Spying on Speech’.
Based on research conducted since 2017 by IPPR research associate Frederico Links, the paper observes that “surveillance overreach and abuse appear to be realities in Namibia”.
Geingob coming under increasing pressure as elections beckon
President Hage Geingob is coming under increasing pressure from organised movements almost half-way towards the election date but political observers have voiced that he should not be seen to be pleasing everyone in this tough economic climate.
On the 18th of this month, a horde of taxi drivers under the ambit of the Namibia Transport and Taxi Union (NTTU) will march to statehouse demanding that he address their economic woes.
Tenders still shrouded in secrecy
THE lack of transparency in the awarding of government tenders leaves room for speculation on corrupt practices, research associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research, Frederico Links said at the launch of their 5th Public Procurement Tracker publication yesterday.
The publication monitors and tracks developments within the Namibian government and public enterprises’ procurement sphere, which is said to be characterised by a lack of information about those benefiting from state tenders. The government has been the biggest spender in the economy over the years, with a history of costs ballooning, amid alleged acts of corruption. This called for new laws which ensure that transparency is key, thereby rooting out corruption and the overpricing of goods and services to the government.
Namibia: National Budget Not Gender-Sensitive – Analysts
The national budget is not responsive to gender issues, irrespective of sex-disaggregated data available on social issues.
This was the view of Rosina Mubonenwa, deputy director in the ministry of gender equality, yesterday when she presented the ministry’s stance and progress on a gender responsive budget (GRB) at a gathering organised by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) in Windhoek.
The event was themed ‘Adapting To Fiscal Constraints, With Special Focus On The Budget and Gender.’
Mubonenwa said the budget is too general, and fails to explicitly state how it will address what the sex-disaggregated data on various social indicators shows.
Namibia’s Media: Facing the Digital Challenge
Digitalisation is transforming how media products are both created and accessed. Consumers can now exercise more control over their media use in terms of how they access content.
Consumers are increasingly likely to only access a few stories from newspapers or TV stations, rather than reading a newspaper from cover to cover or watching an entire news bulletin. These stories are accessed online via social media platforms, digital media or search engines – mostly for little or no monetary gain for the respective media outlet. On the positive side, digitalisation has led to new and innovative ways of presenting content and engaging with consumers.
Public procurement lacks transparency
The latest issue of the Procurement Tracker, an quarterly initiative launched in 2018 by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) to monitor and track developments and issues within the Namibian public procurement sphere, states that successive reviews of the procurement systems in place and the body managing the processes “suggest a system in trouble and even in turmoil.”
Study of media sustainability in Namibia launched
The Namibia Media Trust and the Institute for Public Policy Research on Monday launched the first media sustainability study in the country.
The launch, which came ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, assessed how the industry is being disrupted and reshaped in the digitalisation era. The event was also held in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa).
Namibia civil society organisations mostly dormant since 2016 – report
WINDHOEK – The Namibian Civil Society Organisations (CSO) remained mostly dormant during the last two years due to a decrease in donour funding, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) launched on Wednesday stated.
