Let us fight this ugly evil - Explorations into the fight against corruption in Namibia

Abstract

The amount of people, NGOs, media and public offices devoting themselves to anti-corruption in Namibia has been exploding during the 21st century. Corruption accusations have become part of political rhetoric and media coverage of corruption has increased dramatically. The study examines the definitions of corruption and the role that the concept of corruption plays in the political discussion in Namibia.

The study will situate the Namibian fight against corruption in the international good governance agenda and to the local political and social developments in Namibia. The theoretical perspectives of the study highlight the discursive nature of any policy issue and pay attention to the discursive field of corruption and anti-corruption. The study suggests that corruption may, among other things, be used to identify and dismiss (political) rivals and may provide various actors with means to participate in political discussion at local or national level.

The main part of the fieldwork for the study was conducted in Windhoek, Namibia, in the period of January-June 2008. The data includes theme interviews of Namibian anti-corruption actors. The interviews are complemented by newspaper articles as well as material produced by NGOs and other organizations.

The study argues that Namibian anti-corruption has its specific features that could be based on its history and apartheid, political culture and socio-economic disparity. The study identifies three essential conditions in understanding the importance of corruption discourse in Namibia. The first condition is the international development trend emphasizing corruption, including social engineering and values. International pressure, interest of donors and anti-corruption being a global phenomenon contribute to the discussion on corruption having been exploding in Namibia. Secondly, the regime changes - from apartheid to independence and later from President Nujoma to President Pohamba – are seen as playing a role. Thirdly, in addition to political changes, Namibians aspire broader societal change including material conditions and the economic change. Thus, the policy of Black Economic Empowerment plays a central role in Namibian corruption discussion. The study argues that anti-corruption, similar to many other “anti-policies”, is not simply the opposition of corruption but a political space of its own.

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