The Contradictions of Independence: Namibia in Transition
| Author | Linda Freeman |
| Date | 01 December 1991 |
| Published date | 01 December 1991 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209104600406 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
LINDA
FREEMAN
The
contradictions
of
independence:
Namibia
in
transition
Almost
thirty
years
after
other
African
countries,
Namibia
finally
gained
its
freedom
from
colonial
rule
in
March
199o.
The
attain-
ment
of
formal
independence
was
a
momentous
occasion,
partic-
ularly for
those
who
had
suffered
from the
harshness
of
first
German
and
then
South
African
control and
who
had
taken
part
in
the
bitter
struggle
for
liberation.
For
a
time
Namibia's
independence
renewed
the
momentum
for
change
in
southern
Africa
which
had
stalled
after the
liberation
of
Angola
and
Mozambique
in
1975
and
of
Zimbabwe
in
198o
and
gave
hope
to
black
South
Africans
struggling
with
the
same
intransigent
r6gime
the
Namibians
had
shed.
However,
a
series
of
formidable
problems
have
limited
the
options
open
to
the
new
government
led
by
the
South
West
Afri-
can
People's
Organization
(SWAPO),
the
political
party
which
had
fought
a
long
guerrilla
war
from
bases
in
Angola
and
Zambia
for
Namibia's
liberation.
Indeed,
at
independence,
Namibia's
future
was
so
tightly
constrained
that
its
room
for
movement towards
real
independence
and
development
was
minimal.
Few
countries
have
started
in
such
a
heavily
determined
context.
The
legacy
of
South
African
rule
included
a
severe
fiscal
crisis,
a
dependent
economy,
uneven development, inadequate
social
services
for
the
black
population,
and
the continuance
-
while
negotiations
over
its
status
are
in
progress
-
of
formal
South
African
control
over
Walvis Bay,
Namibia's
main
port.
Not
surprisingly, the
new
gov-
Associate
Professor
of
Political Science,
Carleton
University;
the
author
visited
Southern
Africa
most
recently
in
the
summer
of i99t.
hnternalionalJournal
xLvi
autumn
1991
688
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
ernment
has
moved cautiously
at
first,
emphasizing
national
rec-
onciliation
and
adopting
conservative
economic
policies.
This
study
explores the
contradictions
posed
by
the
internal
and
international
contexts
within
which
the Namibian
state must
operate.
Specifically,
it
will
examine
the
difficulties
posed
by
the
lack
of
resources
available
to
a
government
which
must
nevertheless
demonstrate
that
it
is
serious
about
fulfilling its
promises
to
transform
the
country and
the
society it
now
admin-
isters.
It
will
be
argued
that,
barring
rapid
change
in
the
region,
the
discovery
and
rapid
exploitation
of
new
natural
resources,
or
major Western
assistance,
the
government's
inability
to
meet
the
expectations
of
its
people
will
pose
major
problems
for
the
unity
and
stability
of
Namibia
-
not
to
mention
its
growth
and
development.
While
South
Africa's
role
has
been
a
crucial
one,
other
external
factors
also
place
severe
constraints
on
the
auton-
omy
of
the
new
Namibian
government.
The
second
part
of
the
study
will
assess
the
limits
on
state
policy
posed
by
the
structure
of
the
Namibian economy
-
especially
its
dependence
on
inter-
national
capital
in
the
mineral
sector.
Finally,
the
paper
will
assess
the
effect
of
these
cross-pressures
on
Namibian
politics.
While
the
government's
policy
of
racial
and
ethnic
reconciliation
has
provided
Namibia
with
a
peaceful
start
as
an
independent
state,
it
has
not
been
achieved
without
cost
and
compromises
that
may
eventually
create
problems
for
the
preservation
of
SWAPO'S
political base.
At
the
moment,
the
state
lacks
both the
resources
to
engineer
a
rapid
transformation
of
the
economy
of
the
people
in
Ovamboland
and
the
bargaining
power'to
win
a
major change
in
the working
conditions
of
migrant
labour
in
the
mines
and
industries
of
the south.
Yet
these
two
groups,
particularly the
people
of
Ovamboland,
were
responsible
for
bringing
SWAPO
to
power.
The
question remains
as
to
how
long
SWAPO
will
be
able to
retain
their
support
and
tolerance,
especially
given
the
expectations
which
independence
has
aroused.
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
To
begin
this
analysis
of
the
early
period of
Namibian
indepen-
dence,
three
fundamental
factors
must
be
kept
in
mind:
the
NAMIBIA
IN
TRANSITION
689
structural
constraints
on
Namibia's
autonomy,
the
nature
of
class
politics,
and
the temporal conjuncture
-
the
current
condi-
tions
in
which
the
new
government
is
operating.
In
terms
of
the
first
factor,
key
influences
on
the
nature
of
Namibian
policy
have
been
its
structural
relations
with
the
South
African
state,
international
capital,
and
the
international
aid
community.
Development
in
Namibia before
independence
had
been
that
of
a
periphery
of
a
periphery,
a
virtual
fifth
province
of
South
Africa.
Therefore,
to
establish
the
most
rudimentary
aspects
of
autonomy,
the
new
government
had
to
act
to
bring
monetary
flows,
trade,
and
transportation
under
its
control.
Yet
the
South
African
adminstration
had
departed
leaving
the
state
coffers
virtually
empty.
At
the
same
time,
the
way
in which
Namibia
was
linked
to
the
global
economy placed
limits
on
both
the
development
of
a
more
balanced
economy
and
the
redistribution of
wealth.
Namibia,
like
much
of
sub-Saharan
Africa,
is
still
part
of
the
old
international
division
of
labour
and
therefore
is
vulnerable
to
fluctuating
(lately
declining)
commodity
prices
and
to
the
whims
of
foreign
capital.
The
need
for
capital
from
the
private
sector,
international
financial
institutions,
and
the
bilateral
donor
community
places severe
restrictions
on
the
ability
of
the
government
to
implement
policies
that
will
quickly
remedy
severe
regional,
racial,
and
gender
inequalities.
Beyond
these
constraints,
a
second
aspect
of the
legacy
of
the
past
is
the
nature
of
the
class
that
has
come
to
power.
Historically,
the
politics
of
Namibia
had
been
the
characteristic
politics
of
the
petty
bourgeoisie,
with
personal
and
ethnic
differ-
ences
leading
to
the
proliferation
and
fracturing
of
political
parties. Notwithstanding
the
prestige
of
the
liberation
struggle,
the
significance
of
its
election
victory
in
1989,
and
its
post-
independence
policy
of
national
reconciliation,
it
remains
to
be
seen
whether
SWAPO
can
transcend
this
pattern
in
the
long
term.
While
these
structural
and
class.
factors
are central
to
an
understanding
of
the
context
which
conditions
Namibian
inde-
pendence,
other
conjunctural
factors
have
softened the
harsh-
ness
of
some
of
these
constraints.
Senior
Namibian
officials
are
hopeful
now
that
negotiations
will
lead to
the
formal
reincorpo-
To continue reading
Request your trial