Existential Dynamics of Local Economic Development Partnerships in Namibia: The Case of Khomas Region

Abstract

Local Economic Development (LED) in Namibia is an integral part of the broader national development agenda as encapsulated in numerous national policies and legislation. LED has been confronted with various partnership dynamics that have posed challenges among its stakeholders and actors. While remaining underresearched, this developmental challenge has generally remained prominent due to the complexities involved in the numerous interrelated processes, institutions and stakeholders that are expected to work together and achieve accelerated LED. In an effort to lend scope and understand of these dynamics, insights were drawn from existential elements of communication, cooperation and collaboration, social issues, creation of ownership and pride as well as welcoming attitudes from a single case study unit. Using the quantitative research design, this paper sought to delve into the partnership dynamics of LED in Namibia, by using the Khomas region as a case study. Stratified random sampling was used to identify the sample, which included beneficiaries of LED projects, the Khomas Regional Council and the City of Windhoek. Empirical results found that the social issues and welcoming attitudes in the Khomas Region were generally conducive for the advancement of LED, while communication, cooperation and collaboration; creation of ownership and pride served as deterring factors for LED. The study recommends that the Khomas Regional Council fosters communication, cooperation and collaboration among actors on challenges, opportunities and plans regarding LED. Additionally, it is expected of the regional council and municipality to organise prestigious awards and recognise outstanding volunteers, the best community betterment projects and/or businesses that are socially involved in the community, in order to create ownership and pride amongst actors.

Analysing the Scope of Local Authorities (LAs) in Facilitating and Influencing the Sustainability of Foreign Direct Investment in Namibia: A Case Study of the Windhoek and Walvis Bay LAs

“…This is relevant for specialised areas where LAs lack capacity. The involvement of these stakeholders (e.g., NGOs) through partnerships may be instrumental in assessing the economic, environmental, social, and governance impacts of FDIs vis-à-vis local development goals as guided by the SDGs [49]. Doing this facilitates host governments to recalibrate their FDI facilitative functions toward fostering the sustainability of FDIs for local development.…”