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25 January 2007

Namibia Forms Democracy Support Center

Partnership for a Better Life

 

A Namibian Army officer casts his vote in the 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections in Windhoek, Namibia. The Namibia Democracy Support Center, founded by USAID, has helped invigorate the democratic culture through partnerships between local government and civic organizations. (File photo ©AP Images)

A Namibian Army officer casts his vote in the 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections in Windhoek, Namibia.(File photo©AP Images)

Government and civil society leaders in Namibia have joined to form the Namibia Democracy Support Center, which aims to create a more robust democratic culture in this young democracy.

A survey of barriers to democracy conducted in southern Africa in 2000 found that Namibia was the only country where "the perceived 'supply' of democracy was higher than the 'demand.'" The research indicated a need to strengthen a "demand" for democracy by increasing dialogue between civil society and government and helping Namibia’s citizens understand their rights.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) long has facilitated this kind of interaction in Namibia by sponsoring training and technical assistance for both civic groups and parliament. Although considerable progress has been made, an analysis suggested that Namibia would benefit from a more permanent mechanism for strengthening communication between civil society representatives and elected leaders.

In response, USAID helped institute the Namibia Democracy Support Center, which facilitates interaction between government and civil society groups, helping to ensure the continued development of Namibia’s democratic transformation.

The Namibia Democracy Support Center is a unique, membership-based organization of both government and civil society organizations. Its goal is to formalize and strengthen interaction between select government institutions and Namibian citizens. Members include key civic and government groups, such as parliament, the Ministry of Local and Regional Government and Housing, Namibia’s national university, a legal aid organization, the Namibia Media Women's Association and the Namibia Community Radio Network.

Working with member media institutions, the center coordinates the participation of civic organizations in the legislative process and regional decision-making. Through this effort, Namibian leaders are strengthening the quality of democratic governance in their country and creating a more vigorous democratic culture.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)