Namibia Ten Years after Independence

Ten years ago, on 21 March 1990, more than one hundred years of colonization and minority rule came to an end as Namibia won its independence, accompanied by democratic elections. The new Swapo government faced the enormous task of restructuring an economy and society extremely distorted by years of apartheid rule, of ensuring strong economic growth, of fighting widespread poverty, and of assuring a fair deal for all groups of society. In a study financed by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and published on the tenth anniversary of independence, the Ifo Institute has assessed the extent to which the four main goals have been reached: sustainable growth, creation of jobs, combating poverty, and narrowing the income gap. The efforts that have been made, also with international support, have been considerable and correspond largely to these three areas. However, recent economic growth has not been able to keep pace with the growth in population. Also for 2000, an increase in real GDP of only between 2% and 3% is expected. And the traditionally rooted disparities in society are too large to be overcome within a foreseeable period of time. Even without the waste of state resources for unnecessary military adventures, targeted government, private and international efforts have not been able to change this basic situation very much.