Consider the Environment in Town Planning and Housing Developments – IPPR
Edgar Brandt Windhoek-Government, including regional and local authorities, needs to ensure that urban building standards and town planning regulations enable and incentivise integrated, flexible, cost-effective and sustainable housing developments. This is according to a report released this week by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), titled ‘Housing in Namibia: Rights, Challenges and Opportunities’. The report, compiled by IPPR research associates, Pauline Ndhlovu and Dietrich Remmert, recommends clear certification processes and concise regulations in place to promote the use of alternative construction materials and methods.
Gaps in the Human Trafficking Bill
Government’s efforts to finalise a combating of trafficking in persons law, in line with its stated objective to improve efforts to combat human trafficking in Namibia, is a step in the right direction.
The latest issue of ‘Perspectives on Parliament’, a regular bulletin by the Democracy project of the Institute of Public Policy (IPPR) noted that “despite its shortcomings, the Bill represents a step forward in fighting human trafficking in Namibia”.
Housing Crisis – IPPR Calls for a National Integrated Spatial Planning Framework
The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) called on government to develop a national integrated spatial planning framework, coupled with the devolution of specific town planning powers to lower levels of government.
According to IPPR this would present an extraordinary opportunity to review and restructure the existing regulatory framework around housing and urban land.
This was highlighted in a IPPR recently published a report by its research associates, Dietrich Remmert and Pauline Ndhlovu: ‘Housing in Namibia- Rights, Challenges and Opportunities’ which takes a look at the surrounding issues and inefficiencies in the way of affordable and adequate housing for the majority of Namibia.
‘More talk than action on corruption’
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) director, Graham Hopwood, says “there seems to be more talk than action on corruption in Namibia” and “when action is taken it can often be delayed or ineffective”.
He also said it is his perception that large sections of the public have lost faith in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Hopwood was responding to the recently released 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in which Namibia ranked 53rd out of 180 countries globally and fifth in Africa.
Transparency International (TI) has published the CPI since 1996, annually ranking countries “by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys”.
The CPI generally defines corruption as “the misuse of public power for private benefit”.
IPPR gets global thumbs-up
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has been rated 35th out of an estimated 664 think tanks in sub-Saharan Africa.
The IPPR was further ranked 55th in the world in terms of quality assurance, integrity policies and procedures.
These results were published in the 2017 edition of the ‘Global Go To Think Tank Index’ report released by the University of Pennsylvania’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies programme.
The results are based on a global peer and expert survey of more than 1 950 scholars, policymakers, journalists and regional experts.
IPPR in top 50 African think tanks
The IPPR ranked 35th on the list of Sub-Saharan think tanks this year.
Katjavivi Fails Assets Transparency Test … As Lawmakers Disregard Rules
NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Peter Katjavivi has failed to transparently manage the assets register of parliamentarians despite promising to make it publicly accessible three years ago.
An updated register of MPs’ assets has not been publicly available since 2009, and Katjavivi blames parliamentary bureaucracy and budget cuts for not making MPs’ assets declarations public.
Assets and interest declarations are considered effective tools to fight and prevent corruption, detect illicit enrichment and conflict of interest, in both the public and private sectors.
IPPR defiant after Tweya barbs
The barbed reaction by information and communication technology minister Tjekero Tweya to the findings of the ‘Access Denied’ report, highlighting the dire state of access to information in Namibia’s public and private sectors, has been met with disappointment and a firm rebuttal by its authors.
The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) on Tuesday promptly defended its report, which was published in December last year, and said is stands by the findings and research methods.
No public participation on Nam budget – survey
NAMIBIA does not provide members of the pubic opportunities to participate in the budget-making process as compared with other countries in the region, the latest Open Budget Survey 2017 has found.
The Open Budget Index (OBI) is the world’s only independent and comparative measure of central government budget transparency. It assessed the degree to which the government provides opportunities for the public to engage in the budget-making process.
Tweya Attacks IPPR over Information Access Report
INFORMATION minister Tjekero Tweya on Tuesday labelled a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) as being “unfounded and misleading”.
The report, titled ‘Access Denied’, was published and launched by the IPPR in early December last year, and contained the findings of an access to information survey of more than 100 public, private, civil society organisations and state-owned enterprises.
