African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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This was a year of mixed performance. Politically, President Hage Geingob managed convincingly to consolidate his party base at the congress of the South West African People’s Organisation (swapo), warding off attacks on his leadership. This could be seen as stabilising the dominant party system and avoiding distracting interruptions from within. But attacks between competing factions displayed hitherto unprecedented divisions among the first- and second-generation of leaders in the former liberation movement, which had been in power since Independence in 1990. Ethnic-regional animosities bordering on tribalism also reached new proportions, not least in connection with disputes over land policy. Economically, the country remained in recession and continued to face a fiscal crisis. This required a reduction of the budget, with negative consequences for services and employment as there was less investment in public works and social expenditure was more limited. The promise of prosperity for all, a trademark under the Geingob administration, remained a remote dream. Internationally, Namibia’s image was dented by its continued emphasis on close ties with North Korea and by being categorised as a tax haven by the eu. Further downgrading by international financial rating agencies was considered by government to be motivated by hostile intentions.