Research Articles (SSD)

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Perspectives and experiences of students, academics and management on online learning during Covid 2020-2021 @ UNAM
(2023) Ngololo, Elizabeth; Shemuketa, Havelinus N; Biwa, Anna-Marrie; Shinyemba, Tobias; Kambeyo, Linus; Simon, Wilhelmina Etuna; Henock, Tulonga
Translocal livelihoods in southern Africa: A case study from north-central Namibia
(Journal of Namibian Studies, 2022) Erkkila, Antti
Translocal livelihoods and circular migration characterise the interdependence of rural and urban areas in southern Africa. This study analyses demographic, socio-economic and environmental dimensions of translocal dynamics at the household level in rural north-central Namibia from 1943 to 2012. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of internal migration on the age and sex structure of rural and urban communities, an aspect which has been largely neglected in research to date. Our analysis of the population data shows that the most visible indication of translocality is the distorted age structure of the resident population. Able-bodied persons, particularly males, were virtually absent in many of the homesteads. The empirical evidence from north-central Namibia shows that circular migration has become an essential part of the adaptation strategy of rural households in a changing socio-economic environment. In this context, the improvement of women’s land rights indicates change towards a more gender-equal society.
Eviction of families from Nkarapamwe black township houses in Rundu, north-east Namibia, 1970
(Otjivanda Presse.Bochum, 2022) Likuwa, Kletus
An interest in a history of colonial eviction of families from Nkarapamwe Black Township houses of Rundu in north-east Namibia, along the Kavango River boundary with Angola in 1970, was inspired by the need to contribute to histories of colonial evictions in Namibia and Southern Africa generally. This paper is originally based on a chapter in a Master’sthesis by Likuwa in 2005 detailing Rundu removals.1Inter alia, as an urban space in north eastern Namibia, Rundu has relatively a recent history. Although the first assistant native commissioner Mr. RenéDickman (aka Kayuruor Shongola) was posted to Kavango at Nkurenkuru in 1922, it was only on 16 September 1936 that an Assistant Natives Affairs Commissioner Harold Eedes (aka Nakare) opened office doors at Rundu where he operated until 1946after which he was replaced by. Mr. Morris (1946-1954). It was however during the tenure of Mr. DaveMaree (1958-January 1970) as a Bantu Affairs Commissionerthat Kavango people in Rundu were first relocated from the riverside villages into Nkarapamwe Bantu Township by 1968.2By 1970, at the times of the Nkarapamwe evictions, Mr. Van Niekerk served as theBantu Affairs Commissionerfor barely a year(February-December 1970). The history of Rundu as an administrative town is thus situated in colonial development and security schemes, such as contract labour supply, Odendaal Commission Plan and the so-called counter-terrorism or surveillance concerns necessitated the removal or evictions of people in Rundu.3Colonial evictions were extensive during the Apartheid period in both South Africa and Namibia and, in the case of South Africa, such history is widely documented.4Uma Mesthrie, for example, focused on the experiences of forced removals by Coloured and Indian residents from Sea-point and she placed the eviction in the broader context of evolving policy, legislation and institutional structures for imple-menting forced resettlement of communities in the name of the Apartheid ideology.5In South Africa, as in Namibia, the eviction of ‘squatters’ from land during apartheid both involved the use of legal procedures and institutions to protect property interests, however, in the period following the abolition of apartheid, this logic was not abandoned and seemingly, liberty was acquired at the price of economic subjugation.6Racial discriminatory laws such as the Groups Areas Act of 1950 and other laws such the Squatters Act were identified as the reasons for the various evictions in the urban areas of South Africa and Namibia during the colonial and apartheid period.7However, these reasons were most often a time disguised by the colonial authorities who instead justified the evictions of the local African residents. 1Kletus Likuwa, “Nkarapamwe, new beginning and endings”, in:idem, Rundu, Kavango: a case study of forced relocations in Namibia, 1954 to 1972, unpul. MA thesis, Cape Town, UWC, 2005:52-72.2Kletus Muhena Likuwa, “Colonial relocations in Northern Namibia: from the Riverside village to Nkarapamwe Black Township in Rundu”,European Scientific Journal, Special edition, 2014: 605-615.3Shampapi Shiremo, Vamama’sHistory and Heritage: ‘Forgotten’ History of Namibia, Windhoek, Meinert, 2020: 1-34.4Alan Baldwin, “Mass removals and separate development”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 1 (2), 1975: 215-227.5Uma Duphelia Mesthrie, “The tramway road removals, 1959-61”, Kronos, 15 (21), 1994: 61-78.6Andries Jacobus Van Der Walt,“Rendition/eviction, apost-apartheid reflection” Law and Critique, 15(3), 2004:321-344.7Cosmos Desmond, The Discarded People: An Account of African Resettlement in South Africa, Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1971
History, Politics, Culture
(Otjivanda Presse.Bochum, 2022) Likuwa, Kletus
Robert Gordon explores the central role of Ethnologists on the development of Apartheid ideology and separate development policies to an unknown peripheral or marginal part of the world formerly called South West Africa, now Namibia. He shows why a historic research focus on SWA/ Namibia was necessary as the country had previously been largely overlooked despite having been an important testing ground for South Africa’s Apartheid ideology and separate development policies.
Core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups in the disability and rehabilitation policies of Malawi, Namibia, Sudan and South Africa
(Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 2012) Van Rooy, Gert
In recent decades, there has been a push to incorporate the World Health Organization “Health for All” principles in national, regional, and local health policy documents. However, there is still no methodology guiding the appraisal of such policies with regard to the extent that they address social inclusion. In this article, the authors report on the development of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework that was used to evaluate the disability and rehabilitation policies of Malawi, Namibia, Sudan, and South Africa. The policies were assessed in terms of their commitment to 21 predefined core concepts of human rights and inclusion of 12 vulnerable groups. Substantial variability was identified in the degree to which the core concepts and vulnerable groups were featured in these policy documents. The overall summary rankings for the disability policies of the countries studied were as follows: Namibia–High, Malawi–Low, and Sudan–Low. The rehabilitation policy of South Africa was ranked as Low. The results support the idea that adequate disability and rehabilitation policies remain mostly undefined. EquiFrame may offer a useful methodology for evaluating and comparing human rights and social inclusion across policy documents.
Experiences and perceptions of HIV/AIDS and sex among people with disabilities in Windhoek, Namibia
(Springer, 2014) Van Rooy, Gert
The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of people with disabilities (PWD) with regard to issues of sexuality and HIV/AIDS. More specifically, we investigate how PWD perceive social and sexual relationships, how they experience sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care including HIV/AIDS. This study relied on key informant (5) interviews and focused group interviews (FGDs). The three FGDs consisted of midlevel to senior officials (5), females with disabilities (5) and a mixed group of males and females with disabilities (12). The study supports the view that PWD experience differential treatment within extended families. The public has negative attitudes towards PWD who engage in sex in general and female PWD who fall pregnant particularly. It largely supports the literature that PWD are at great risk of physical and sexual abuse and are often denied reproductive rights. It points to the difficulties PWD find with HIV/AIDS education as a lot of the materials is not written in Braille or otherwise fail to take into account the different disabilities. People with disability also face problems accessing reproductive health services because of the negative attitudes of healthcare providers. There is a need for the government and society to focus on the SRH of PWD if the fight against HIV/AIDS is to succeed. There is also need to focus on PWD in the context of sexuality if the inalienable human rights and freedoms of all its citizens including PWD is to be realized.
Income poverty and inequality in Namibia
(2007) Van Rooy, Gert
In this paper a national income poverty line for Namibia is derived based on estimated expenditures required to sustain a minimum calorific intake (food poverty line) as well as other basic necessities such as clothing and shelter (non-food poverty line). Estimates are based on actual consumption patterns of the poorest as recorded by the Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey conducted in 1993/94. This method is preferred over the previously applied food-share method. The overall poverty line is estimated at N$107 per capita per month in 1993/94 prices or approximately N$212 per capita per month in 2003 prices. According to this definition 53% of households and 65% of individuals in Namibia live below the income poverty line at the time of the survey. The analysis confirms tremendous inequalities in the way income and poverty is distributed. The poorest 20% of the population receives 2.5% of total expenditure, while the top 20% receives 71%. The standard measure of inequality, the Gini-coefficient, is estimated to be 0.697, which is probably the highest in the world. The methods and analysis presented in the paper should serve as a bench-mark for the analysis of the ongoing 2003/04 income and expenditure survey in particular and as a key tool for designing, implementing and monitoring policies that can effectively combat income poverty and inequality in Namibia in line with Vision 2030 and the Millennium Development Goals.
Living conditions among people with disabilities in developing countries
(Bristol University Press, 2011) Eide, Arne H.
Living conditions and poverty are two common quantifiers or parameters of socioeconomic status and both have evolved from rather narrow economic and material concepts to encompass broader and more complex understandings. studies on living conditions have evolved to include individuals’ capabilities and how they utilise their capabilities.
Understanding the perpetrators of violent crimes against women and girls in Namibia
(2008) Van Rooy, Gert
Understanding the perpetrators of violent crimes against women and girls in Namibia
Gender equity and impedes of career progression in the nursing profession in Khomas region of Namibia
(SAGE Open Nursing, 2022) Mwetulundila, Paulus N.; Indongo, Nelago
Introduction Women had for years endured impediments at the workplace in many aspects such as gender inequity and low pace of career advancement. The status quo is persistent despite the enactment of legal frameworks institutionalized to redress gender disparities in the workforce. Aim This study strives to explore gender equity, assess the magnitude of women in decision-making and to ascertain impediments that humper career progression in nursing. Method This study utilized secondary data collected from a thesis titled ‘Gender equity and career progression in the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Khomas region of Namibia.The main study employed a mixed method approach to collect information through interviews. Tools Two separate semi-structured interview guides that comprised of both set of close-ended and openended questions were employed to gather information from selected respondents and the key informant. Results The conception that women in nursing are less successful in their careers in comparison to their male colleagues is contrary to the study findings as managerial positions at the studied institutions are held by women. Cultural factors are found to hold less significance in impeding career progression at Ministry of Health and Social Services as opposed to organizational hierarchical structure. Conclusion The feminization of the nursing career that led to the predominance of female in profession is still unopposed as the profession is not showing a sign of equilibrium of the two genders.
Dislike for schooling as risk factor for teenage pregnancy: Development of a hypothesis using data from a study conducted on understanding factors associated with teenage pregnancy
(African Journal of Reproductive Health, 2022) Van Rooy, Gert
This paper is informed by the data extracted from a study conducted by the Multidisciplinary Research Centre (MRC) in 2014, titled, ‘Understanding Factors Associated with Teenage Pregnancy in Namibia’ that focused on 602 boys and 2875 girls aged between 14 to 22 years of age. The aim of the paper was to test the hypothesis of dislike of school as a catalyst to teenage pregnancy. The analysis of the paper is based on 1,393 school learners that were all female. In testing the hypothesis both univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used. No clear associations were found between dislike of school and attitudes and behaviours (outcome measures) which may predict the risk of subsequent teenage pregnancy except for alcohol use and parental employment. Parental employment as proxy for socio-economic status emerged as a significant predictor of unhappiness at school while higher levels of alcohol use predicted higher odds of dislike of school. Interventions to promote youth satisfaction with schooling should be based on longitudinal research to inform effective policy and practice.. (Afr J Reprod Health 2021; 25[6]: 58-67).
Overview and analysis of socio-economic and fisheries information to promote the management of artisanal fisheries in the BCLME region - Angola
(2005) Shapi, Martin K.
This report is part of a suite of reports that describe the fishing activities and socio-economic conditions pertaining to artisanal and informal fishing sectors along the coastal component of the Benguela Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME). This report relates particularly to the Angolan artisanal fisheries sector. The Republic of Angola is the northern most of the BCLME countries and mainly the southern part of the country is directly affected by the Benguela current, although high levels of productivity are maintained along the entire coastline in response to oceanographic events related to the presence of the current and its interaction with the warm Angola current. Industrial and artisanal fishing activities take place along the entire length of the 1 650 km coastline
Defining landscape: Resolving contradictions at postcolonial Omhedi, the Oukwanyama royal palace, Namibia
(David Publishing Company, 2017) Shiweda, Napandulwe
The history of Omhedi in north-central Namibia is not simply about the place but is a site that internalizes conflictual and contradictory social forces which are inscribed in place. While Omhedi was a contested site of conflict during the war of liberation and served as a stage for ethnographic tours and photography, it has in the post-colonial period come to represent a segment of important local power as it is currently the seat of the new Oukwanyama kingship. The central aim of this paper is to explain the transformation of Omhedi as a site of “spectacles” of culture during the colonial period and as the seat of Oukwanyama monarchy in post-colonial Namibia. It centrally asks how the colonial politics of the time influenced the way Omhedi was organized and accessed and the ways in which people attach meaning to and organize a sense of space and place in the postcolonial era. This paper is significant as it explores how political legitimacy can be reactivated at such a contradictory site of “traditional” power like Omhedi and what meanings these hold in terms of access in postcolonial Namibia. I conclude by raising issues of the past with the restoration of the Oukwanyama monarchy and its installation at Omhedi after independence, posing key questions about shifts in political legitimacy in both the colony and the post-colony. My analysis utilizes theories on the important use of landscape as a physical “space” for living, but also as a “place” with its meanings and contributions to societal identity. Consequently, the place identity is a particular element contributing to a sense of place. I argue that there exists a sense of nostalgia that many Ovakwanyama people have for a pre-colonial past, and the Omhedi landscape serves that purpose. In analyzing these sentiments against the construction of Omhedi as a space and place, this highlights a sense of identity and belonging that many Ovakwanyama people have towards Omhedi in default of any site with deeper legitimation or authenticity.
Urban water management challenges and achievements in Windhoek, Namibia
(IWA Publishing, 2019) Lewis, Earl W.
This paper gives an overview of the main challenges and achievements faced by Windhoek’s water management sector. The paper highlights pertinent issues arising from increased water demand, and also explores current and future water supply augmentation options. Water planners experience management challenges as a result of a combination of factors, mainly, lack of funds and staff, limited expertise, poor communication between stakeholders, and weak regulation and enforcement. In order to meet these challenges, water managers need to develop more robust and resilient strategies, including a greater focus on water demand management.
Sub-Saharan teacher STEM professional development with digital ink: Follow-up (Sub-Saharan pen-based computing follow-up)
(Springer, 2019) Hamilton, Eric
This chapter reports on research activities originally reported at the 2015 WIPTTE conference, the last one held prior to the conference name change. The chapter, entitled “A Model and Research Agenda for Teacher and Student Collaboration Using Tablets in Digital Media Making: Results from Sub-Saharan Workshops” reported on a series of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects funded by the Kenyan Ministry of Education, Microsoft Research, and the National Science Foundation. The research has continued since then, with additional support from the Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, the US State Department’s Fulbright Program, and new, multiyear funding from NSF. The chapter describes the evolution of the project and five themes emerging from it, in addition to describing a new four-year effort related to the original paper. The original paper focused on activities in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Namibia. This chapter centers on follow-up activities in Namibia.
Breastfeeding and complementary feeding patterns in Namibia
(UNISA Press, 2019) Indongo, Nelago
Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices have significant implications for the child's health status. In Namibia, the Maternal and Child Health programme has teamed up with the WHO and UNICEF to improve feeding practices of infants and young children. The main objective of this paper is to examine practices of breastfeeding and complementary feeding among mothers with infants and young children aged 0–24 months. The paper focuses on examining the period of breastfeeding cessation by mothers and the time of the introduction of complementary foods. Information was obtained from 9 176 mothers of 16 237 infants and young children aged 0–24 months interviewed during the 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey. A survival analysis was used to explore the effects of different variables on the time course of breastfeeding. Although breastfeeding initiation is quite high, most mothers do not continue to breastfeed to 24 months. Among children aged between 0 and 24 months, only 28.2 per cent were still breastfed, and continued breastfeeding is lowly practiced with only 6.1 per cent of children between 20 and 24 months still breastfed. A significant proportion of infants were introduced to solid foods before the recommended age of six months with 31.3 percent given some solid foods. Developing a breastfeeding culture that involves increasing the duration of maternity leave for working mothers should be considered.
Continuity and change in gender relations within the contract labour system in Kavango, Namibia, 1925–1972
(Journal of Southern African Studies, 2021) Likuwa, Kletus M.
The gendered historical investigation of migrant labour in Namibia (and southern Africa more broadly) has rightly considered the ways in which women left behind in the sending areas were obliged to take on additional agricultural duties in the absence of men. This has been viewed by some scholars as a form of material exploitation of women and a potential subsidy to white employers in these settler colonial spheres. While there is some validity to these claims, the relationship between the sending areas and the work site was not simply a material one, and contract/migrant labour recruiting systems entered spaces with existing gendered cultural repertoires concerning how to deal with absent men. The significance of these cultural frameworks is worthy of additional empirical, comparative and theoretical investigation. Through the use of oral interviews supplemented by archival materials, this article discusses these issues in the context of Kavango, north-eastern Namibia, which, for much of the 20th century, was a major source of contract labourers to the colonial economy in what was then South West Africa. The article argues that colonialism and labour recruiting schemes built upon and transformed existing precolonial cultural frameworks such as ‘the people’s child’, women’s observance of taboos and a local conception of ‘home’. This article further posits that the maintenance of this migrant labour system was dependent upon its integration into local worldviews.
Dependency of rural communities on non-timber forest products in the dry lands of Southern Africa: A case of Mukwe constituency, Kavango East region, Namibia
(Elsevier, 2020) Kamwi, Jonathan M.
This paper examines the relationship between socio-economic and demographic factors and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) dependency among the rural communities of the Mukwe Constituency, Kavango East Region, Namibia. The study employed interviews of households using semi-structured questionnaires and personal ob- servations during July 2019 covering 102 respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square (X 2 ) to test the association between socio-economic and demographic factors with NTFPs depen- dency. Results showed that wild-fruits, mushroom, honey-bees, mopane worms, insects, medicinal plants, wild meat, ropes, reeds, thatching grasses and devil’s claw were the NTFPs prevalent in the study area. The results further showed that 71 % of the respondents were reliant on NTFPs for their diverse livelihoods. The Chi-square revealed no significant association between age, gender, marital status, number of people in the households, and NTFPs dependency ( P > 0.05). However, a significant association was found between NTFPs reliance and occupation, number of years in the village, number of people employed in the household, highest qualification, and employment status ( P < 0.05). The intra-community differentiation in the reliance on NTFPs, as revealed in this study, enables more effective targeting of forest management interventions and informs efforts to reconcile the goals of poverty reduction and sustainable forest management in Namibia and other countries with similar socio-economic and environmental conditions
Understanding unwanted pregnancy from the perspectives of the Namibia male youth
(African Journal of Reproductive Health September, 2020) Mogotsi, Immaculate
The aim of this paper was to understand the perceptions of Namibian male youth regarding unwanted pregnancy. This study is based on secondary data from the study titled “Understanding factors associated with unwanted pregnancy in Namibia, it used mixed methods, integrating qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. For this study, only responses pertaining to male youth aged 15 to 22 years were used for analysis. The research findings showed that, even though the male youth knew about the consequences of pregnancy, they still engaged in unprotected sex. Male condoms were the only male controlled contraceptive available to male youth and condoms were seen to protect against HIV, STIs and unwanted pregnancies. Even though the male youth had this knowledge, it appears that inconsistent condom use remained a challenge. The respondents were aware of and had limited access to condoms, more than 30% of the male youth had impregnated female youth. Impregnating and being a learner-parent inhibit the educational attainment of male youth. Unwanted pregnancy is a concern among male youth and this study recommends targeted sexual and reproductive health intervention for male youth.
The Owambo campaign memorial in context: Who is being commemorated
(Journal of Namibian Studies, 2020) Shiweda, Napandulwe
This paper focuses on the Owambo Campaign Memorial in Windhoek which was erected to commemorate the British South Africa troops who died during the campaign against King Mandume at Oihole on the 6th of February 1917. It explores the origin of the Owambo Campaign memorial project and interprets the memorial’s significance to Owambo people. Upon its erection in 1919, the monument was appropriated as a memorial to King Mandume because many Owambo people, particularly the Kwanyama, believed, and still believe, that the king was decapitated and that his head was later taken to Windhoek where it was buried under the monument. This paper examines the significance of the monument’s location, the events surrounding its unveiling, and the subsequent activities amid the political turbulence in the capital city. Windhoek served as an intersection point between the north, the south and the coast, with labour coming from the north to mines, harbours and farms in the south. Thus, during colonial rule many Owambo came to Windhoek as migrant labourers where they lived in compounds. The end of colonial rule, however, created a space in the city’s symbolic landscape for a new layer of postcolonial narratives to overwrite the inscribed colonial identities, memories and meanings. This paper argues that the Owambo Campaign Memorial is an important site for understanding the change of meaning process attached to monuments dedicated to colonial heroes.

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