Namibia

D

Commerce and Trade

Most of Namibia’s trade is with South Africa. The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export. Namibia is the fourth-largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa. It is also the world’s fifth-largest producer of uranium, with the largest uranium mine, and the second-largest producer of lead.

E

Transport

There is a network of about 42,237 km (26,245 mi) of roads and 2,382 km (1,480 mi) of railways. In 2002 there were 42 passenger cars per 1,000 people. Namibia boasts the region’s only deep-water port, at Walvis Bay, which it finally won from South African control in 1994. There are also port facilities at Lüderitz. The national carrier is the state-owned Air Namibia. Windhoek International Airport (Eros) lies to the south of the city.

V

Government

The former executive body, the 12-member Ministerial Council, as well as the 72-member National Assembly, were totally dissolved in 1983. In June 1985 South Africa installed a new government with an 8-member Cabinet, a 16-member Constitutional Council, and a 62-member National Assembly. An administrator-general, appointed by South Africa, had the power to veto legislation passed by the National Assembly, and South Africa continued to control defence and foreign affairs. The independence constitution of 1990 established a republic led by a president who may serve no more than two five-year terms of office. (The constitution was amended in November 1998 to allow President Nujoma to serve a third term of office.) The charter also provided for a multi-party system and a bicameral parliament.

The two chambers of the legislature are the 26-member National Council, comprising two members from each of the 13 regional councils who each serve for six years, and a 78-member National Assembly. Of these, 72 are elected by proportional representation and six are nominated by the president; all serve five years each. There is a prime minister, chosen by the president, who heads a 22-member Cabinet.

A

Political Parties

During the period of South African rule, the security and apartheid laws of South Africa were extended to Namibia, and black nationalist parties were barred from participation in government. This barrier was removed as independence approached, and the black nationalist South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) won a majority of the votes in elections for a constituent assembly in November 1989. The party was also victorious in the first post-independence elections held in December 1994, and again in the elections of 1999. The most important minority parties are the multi-racial Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA), the Congress of Democrats (CoD), and the United Democratic Front (UDF).

B

Health and Welfare

In 2004 there were 3,363 people per doctor and an infant mortality rate in 2008 of 47 deaths per 1,000 live births. Around 3.9 per cent of the country’s GDP was spent on health care in 1995.