Civil Society in Namibia: History, Context and Possibilities (Part 5)
ANDRÉ DU PISANI WRITES:
In its relation to the State, local "civil society" agencies have had limited success in limiting the power of the State.
In a very real sense, the State is not the proper association to enable individuals achieving all their substantive ends of human life; it is the indispensable instrument for securing an order in which ordinary individuals can pursue these activities unmolested – producing a civilization. Interestingly, this argument makes the state both indispensable and limited.
The French enlightened thinker Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) made a more seminal contribution to the debate than Locke, when he saw the internal division of powers of the agencies of the state as a more important guarantee of citizens' freedom.
This line of argument, taken to its logical limits, could make the achievement of an essentially Social Democratic State a precondition for the creation of modern civilization. Locke, too, made a most important contribution to the debate, when he argued that the monarchy, the sovereign or government is quite distinct from the body of the people; and thus there is no difficulty in distinguishing between the society constituted by the entire population and the sovereign, or government composed of those who rule over them. Although he does not use the concept of civil society in the more modern dichotomous form, against the state, the fundamental distinction of principle is well articulated.
The government performs a specific function of producing and maintaining order which is a precondition for all other types of activities that make human life; but this function is distinct from them. If the government is not put under restraints by legal rules – constitutionalism – its unrestrained power might become a threat to other civilizing activities of which commerce, based on property is of primary importance.
POSSIBILITIES
Against this wider political, historic and theoretical canvas, what realistically are the possibilities for Namibia civil societyorganizations? What is to be done?
The first thing that should happen is to revisit and renegotiate the Cabinet-approved 2005 Government of the Republic of Namibia Civic Organisations Partnership Policy so as to provide a meaningful legal and policy framework for civil society organizations to operate in and to engage with the State.
This Policy proposed a framework for partnership between civil society organizations and government at all three levels of authority: local, regional and central. The Policy also provided for "Codes of Conduct" and institutional review.
This becomes more important in the context of the recently approved Public Private Partnership Act of 2017, especially in terms of project feasibility, public/private agreements and dispute resolution, among other provisions.
Chapter 3 of The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia (as amended) offers the framework for potentially more meaningful political space for local civil society organizations. Since democracy works on the principles of participation and supply and demand, civics should demand more democracy and accountability.
Part of this initiative could include publishing an annual/biannual Namibia: Civil Society Barometer that lists most organizations, their mandates, funding and projects, and co-designing rules and procedures for sharing information and data with Government on national development projects.
COALITIONS
The second possibility, as evidenced by some of the examples provided in this paper, is for civil society organizations to build coalitions around key social and political challenges that face the country and its fellow SADC-member States. These could conceivably include: environmental and land management, water security and safety, crime and violence, gender in development, youth empowerment, and sustainable development, more widely.
In this civil society organizations should be research-led, for example in proposing and participating with the State in an Integrated National Land Audit that could form the basis for new policy directives and more sustainable land reform.
At the SADC-level local civil society actors should work much more closely with the SADC-CNGO – Southern African Development Community – Council on Non-Governmental Organisations. SADC-CNGO is active on issues of human rights and democracy and regularly issues statements on Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) among others.
A few local Namibian CSOs have been involved in election observation in this country and beyond. This should continue.
ENGAGEMENT
Thirdly, civil society organizations should develop strategies for engaging decision-makers at different levels of the State: local, regional and central and through its key structures; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Such strategies should take different forms such as policy-relevant briefings, policy review, where and when appropriate, meetings with Standing and Portfolio Committees of Parliament and participation in wider consultative processes.
Forth, some civil society organizations should sweep their own house first, for some have clearly been artificially created to petition and pressure the State and are based on entirely attributed criteria. Their success in influencing, let alone in actively contributing to public policy, seems to be rather limited.
Fifthly, failures of the Namibian State, paradoxically may create space for civil society organizations to play a more constructive and meaningful role. While Namibians are happy and unhappy after their own fashion, the history and politics of this post-colonial State have shown potentially assorted miseries.
FAILURES OF THE STATE
These are: First, by launching extensive projects which not merely over-extended the state's capacities but took it into areas where in principle it could not be very effective.
One example of this has been the Mass Housing Project, announced in a moment of nationalist sentimentality.
Secondly, by making a raft of unproductive investments that cannot create employment and reducing high-levels of, especially youth unemployment. Local CSOs should expand their efforts around the budget and go beyond preparing a "Citizens' Budget", they should also produce a regular Corruption Tracker that covers both the public and the private sector.
It is important to understand, that through the former nationalist liberation movement, Swapo, these elites laid claim to the right to mobilize all sections of society, and subsequently extended the state's influence over all spheres of social life. This is one significant paradox of the Namibian civil society in the post-colony. Nationalism, making colonialism responsible for everything wrong with the post-colony, was making an insidious preparation for its own title to dominate all domains with unquestioned legitimacy.
In its relation to the State, local "civil society" agencies have had limited success in limiting the power of the State.
In a very real sense, the State is not the proper association to enable individuals achieving all their substantive ends of human life; it is the indispensable instrument for securing an order in which ordinary individuals can pursue these activities unmolested – producing a civilization. Interestingly, this argument makes the state both indispensable and limited.
The French enlightened thinker Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) made a more seminal contribution to the debate than Locke, when he saw the internal division of powers of the agencies of the state as a more important guarantee of citizens' freedom.
This line of argument, taken to its logical limits, could make the achievement of an essentially Social Democratic State a precondition for the creation of modern civilization. Locke, too, made a most important contribution to the debate, when he argued that the monarchy, the sovereign or government is quite distinct from the body of the people; and thus there is no difficulty in distinguishing between the society constituted by the entire population and the sovereign, or government composed of those who rule over them. Although he does not use the concept of civil society in the more modern dichotomous form, against the state, the fundamental distinction of principle is well articulated.
The government performs a specific function of producing and maintaining order which is a precondition for all other types of activities that make human life; but this function is distinct from them. If the government is not put under restraints by legal rules – constitutionalism – its unrestrained power might become a threat to other civilizing activities of which commerce, based on property is of primary importance.
POSSIBILITIES
Against this wider political, historic and theoretical canvas, what realistically are the possibilities for Namibia civil societyorganizations? What is to be done?
The first thing that should happen is to revisit and renegotiate the Cabinet-approved 2005 Government of the Republic of Namibia Civic Organisations Partnership Policy so as to provide a meaningful legal and policy framework for civil society organizations to operate in and to engage with the State.
This Policy proposed a framework for partnership between civil society organizations and government at all three levels of authority: local, regional and central. The Policy also provided for "Codes of Conduct" and institutional review.
This becomes more important in the context of the recently approved Public Private Partnership Act of 2017, especially in terms of project feasibility, public/private agreements and dispute resolution, among other provisions.
Chapter 3 of The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia (as amended) offers the framework for potentially more meaningful political space for local civil society organizations. Since democracy works on the principles of participation and supply and demand, civics should demand more democracy and accountability.
Part of this initiative could include publishing an annual/biannual Namibia: Civil Society Barometer that lists most organizations, their mandates, funding and projects, and co-designing rules and procedures for sharing information and data with Government on national development projects.
COALITIONS
The second possibility, as evidenced by some of the examples provided in this paper, is for civil society organizations to build coalitions around key social and political challenges that face the country and its fellow SADC-member States. These could conceivably include: environmental and land management, water security and safety, crime and violence, gender in development, youth empowerment, and sustainable development, more widely.
In this civil society organizations should be research-led, for example in proposing and participating with the State in an Integrated National Land Audit that could form the basis for new policy directives and more sustainable land reform.
At the SADC-level local civil society actors should work much more closely with the SADC-CNGO – Southern African Development Community – Council on Non-Governmental Organisations. SADC-CNGO is active on issues of human rights and democracy and regularly issues statements on Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) among others.
A few local Namibian CSOs have been involved in election observation in this country and beyond. This should continue.
ENGAGEMENT
Thirdly, civil society organizations should develop strategies for engaging decision-makers at different levels of the State: local, regional and central and through its key structures; the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. Such strategies should take different forms such as policy-relevant briefings, policy review, where and when appropriate, meetings with Standing and Portfolio Committees of Parliament and participation in wider consultative processes.
Forth, some civil society organizations should sweep their own house first, for some have clearly been artificially created to petition and pressure the State and are based on entirely attributed criteria. Their success in influencing, let alone in actively contributing to public policy, seems to be rather limited.
Fifthly, failures of the Namibian State, paradoxically may create space for civil society organizations to play a more constructive and meaningful role. While Namibians are happy and unhappy after their own fashion, the history and politics of this post-colonial State have shown potentially assorted miseries.
FAILURES OF THE STATE
These are: First, by launching extensive projects which not merely over-extended the state's capacities but took it into areas where in principle it could not be very effective.
One example of this has been the Mass Housing Project, announced in a moment of nationalist sentimentality.
Secondly, by making a raft of unproductive investments that cannot create employment and reducing high-levels of, especially youth unemployment. Local CSOs should expand their efforts around the budget and go beyond preparing a "Citizens' Budget", they should also produce a regular Corruption Tracker that covers both the public and the private sector.
It is important to understand, that through the former nationalist liberation movement, Swapo, these elites laid claim to the right to mobilize all sections of society, and subsequently extended the state's influence over all spheres of social life. This is one significant paradox of the Namibian civil society in the post-colony. Nationalism, making colonialism responsible for everything wrong with the post-colony, was making an insidious preparation for its own title to dominate all domains with unquestioned legitimacy.
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