Government And Political Condi Essay Research Paper

Government And Political Condi Essay, Research Paper

Government and Political Conditions

Namibia has a multiparty system with about forty political groups all ranging from modern political parties to more traditional tribes or ethnic groups. They also have a bill of rights; and a system of checks and balances for the three branches of government.

The ultimate authority rests with the President (currently President Sam Nujoma) who is the head of state, head of government, and the commander in chief of the armed forces. The President of Namibia is elected for a five-year term, and was limited to a two year term until recently when the current President Sam Nujoma rewrote the constitution the allow himself to have another bit of the cherry. The President appoints the prime minister and other minister to make up the cabinet from elected members of the National Assemble.

Legislative authority is vested in a bicameral parliament consisting of the National Assembly (consists of 72 members that serve a five-year term, and up to six non-voting members appointed by the president) and the National Council (consists of 26 members; two members are chosen from each of 14 elected Regional Councils to serve a six-year term).

The largest party is the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO), which the President Sam Nujoma belongs to. SWAPO was formally a Marxist oriented movement and its aim was to gain independence with a majority rule. After SWAPO came to power all the cabinet posts except one has gone to its own elected party members of the National Assembly.

The principal opposition party is the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), which is a coalition between several ethnically based parties and tribal chiefs; the DTA seems to be the more conservative party. The DTA governed Namibia for ten years under the South African supervision, and is the primary opposition force in Namibia to contest SWAPO for seats in the National Assembly.

The Supreme Court of Namibia, the High Court, and a number of magistrate and Lower Courts exercise judicial authority. The judicial structure in Namibia parallels that of South Africa; Roman-Dutch law was the common law of the territory from 1919 onward; still today Namibia continues this practice.

Sam Nujoma

The incumbent President of Namibia Sam Nujoma has set an example by rewriting that country’s constitution to give him a third term. President Nujoma claimed since the National Assembly had initially appointed him, and he had only been elected once on a popular mandate; so the term limit should not apply in his case. In November 1998, the bill to amend the constitution was passed by clear majority fifty votes to fifteen. He had no problem passing the bill to allow him to run for a third time. Since SWAPA and President Sam Nujoma with the support of the military changed the Constitution it has been clear that only a massive upset can prevent him from controlling the country as long as he prefer.

President Nujoma’s leadership has been heavily criticized for the ruthless way SWAPO has dealt with dissent during the struggle and after independence and his tendency to reward incompetence and venality in exchange for loyalty. President Nujoma is single-minded and determined and is almost impossible to get him to change his mind on issues, for example when he invited Chinese and Africans from across the world to settle in Namibia at a time when Government is spreading a message of population control.

President Sam Nujoma has been and still is very outspoken when it comes to homosexual issues. On Friday 23 of June he launched a virulent attack on gays and lesbians, saying those who practiced homosexuality were “idiots’ who should be condemned. He went on and said that homosexuals were acting against the will of God, and that those people who are practicing homosexuality are destroying the nation and homosexuality was Un-African. However as it stands for the moment Namibia’s labor law outlaws discrimination against gays and lesbians at workplace. This literally does not mean anything, since Nujoma is “controlling the country,” and if he could amend the constitution he can easily change the laws to his likening.

Economy

Namibia is a poor country; in 1998 Namibia had only a gross domestic product of 5.5 billion in USD, and a population of 1.6 million. The Namibian government is heavenly depended on the extraction of minerals for export, where it is the fourth largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa and the world’s fifth largest producer of uranium. The mining industry is twenty percent of the Namibian GDP.

The majority of the Namibian population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. The primary food crops they produce are maize and wheat and the meat products are beef, goat, and chicken. The majority of the Namibian population lives in pronounced poverty because of great inequality of income distribution and the large amount going to foreigners.

The government is seeking for foreign investors desperately to help develop their economy. Namibia has created a Foreign Investment Act that guarantees that foreign investors are treated equal and given the same means and resources that given to Namibian Firms to succeed. This act has already created results as one of the largest direct selling companies in the world, Amway, wil