State, Society and Democracy A Reader in Namibian Politics Edited by Christiaan Keulder Macmillan Education Namibia Publication of this book was made possible by the generous support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily the views of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung P.O.Box 1145, Windhoek Namibia Tel: +264 61 225568 Fax: +264 61 225678 www.kas.de/namibia © Konrad Adenauer Stiftung & individual authors, 2010 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Language editing by Sandie Fitchat Cover image by Melody Futter First published 2000 Reprinted 2010 Macmillan Education Namibia (Pty) Ltd P O Box 22830 Windhoek Namibia ISBN 978 99916 0265 3 Printed by John Meinert Printing, Windhoek, Namibia State, Society and Democracy Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ vii List of Contributors ...................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................ix Introduction Christiaan Keulder ..............................................................................................1 The Three Key Concepts ..................................................................................2 State ...............................................................................................................2 Society ..........................................................................................................4 Democracy ....................................................................................................8 The Scope of this Book ..................................................................................10 Economic and Social Transformation in the Process of Colonisation: Soci- ety and State Before and During German Rule Henning Melber ................................................................................................16 The “Home Front”: Features of “Internal” Development towards Socio-eco- nomic Change ...............................................................................................17 Increasing Foreign Influence: Interactions in the Course of New Exchange Patterns Emerging and the Establishment of Colonial Relations .................22 Final Defeat: The Establishment of Formal Colonial Rule ............................28 The New System: Colonial-capitalist Relations in a Settler Society .............37 The Character and Impact of the Early Colonial State ...................................40 State and Society under South African Rule André du Pisani .................................................................................................49 Introduction ....................................................................................................49 The State......................................................................................................49 Civil Society ...................................................................................................50 The Making of the Apartheid State: 1915-1960 .............................................52 Mandate: A Cautionary Tale .......................................................................53 The Urban Arena .........................................................................................58 Party Formation ...........................................................................................59 Black Resistance .........................................................................................60 The Origins of the Legal Dispute ................................................................61 The Politics of Resistance: 1959-1972 ...........................................................62 Odendaal: Unto Each Its Own “Ethnic” Space ..............................................64 Political Recommendations .........................................................................66 The Politics of Controlled Change: 1971-1989 ..............................................68 Conclusions ....................................................................................................74 i State, Society and Democracy The Constitution: Its Impact on Namibian Statehood and Politics Gerhard Erasmus ..............................................................................................77 Introduction: Statehood through a Constitution .............................................77 The Origins of the Constitution ......................................................................79 What is a Constitution? ..................................................................................83 Basic Features of the Namibian Constitution .................................................86 Life under the Constitution: What is the Record? ..........................................93 How to Evaluate the Record .......................................................................93 The Constitution as the Founding Document for the Namibian State ........94 The Constitution as a National Compact ....................................................96 The Constitution as a Yardstick for Good Governance ...............................98 The Constitution as an International Ticket ..............................................100 Appendix ......................................................................................................105 List of human rights abuse cases brought to court in Namibia .................105 Decentralisation and State-Building at the Local Level Gerhard Tötemeyer .........................................................................................108 Introduction ..................................................................................................108 Local Democracy and Empowerment ..........................................................108 Decentralisation and the Parameters of National Policy ..............................112 Forms of Decentralisation .........................................................................114 Local Authorities in Namibia .......................................................................115 Before Independence .................................................................................115 Since Independence ...................................................................................118 Strengthening Local Authorities ...................................................................120 Regional Government ...................................................................................123 Creating New Structures ...........................................................................123 Linking the Regions and the Centre ..........................................................125 The Functions ............................................................................................126 Traditional Authorities ..................................................................................132 Decentralisation within the Namibian Context ............................................133 Key Elements of the Policy .......................................................................134 Powers and Functions to be Decentralised................................................137 Development Coordinating Committees, and Development Committees 143 Concluding Remarks ....................................................................................145 Traditional Leaders Christiaan Keulder ..........................................................................................150 Introduction ..................................................................................................150 Defining Traditional Leadership ..................................................................151 The Issues .....................................................................................................154 ii State, Society and Democracy Models of Traditional Leadership ................................................................155 The Kingdoms of Northern Namibia ........................................................155 Chieftainships ............................................................................................157 Headmenships ...........................................................................................158 Postcolonial Developments .......................................................................159 The Jurisdiction of Traditional Leaders ........................................................161 Political Structures and Processes Affecting the Institution of Traditional Leadership ..................................................................................................161 The State of the Institution ...........................................................................163 Structural Problems ...................................................................................163 Additional Problems..................................................................................164 Addressing the Problems ..............................................................................166