The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)’s celebration of 25 years of insight, debate, and impact engagement was attended by various stakeholders who shared their views on the political landscape in the country.

Political scientist André du Pisani had this to say.

“Ideologically, where should the government position itself? Should it adopt the kind of neoliberal approach we currently have, or should it embrace the social democracy that we say we want to become? There are even provisions for that in our Constitution. However, that is a debate we do not seem to be having as a country. Where should we go, and what trade-offs will we have to make to get there? I think that is a broader debate about the nature of policy itself if we are serious about addressing these concerns.”

Executive Director of the Namibia Institute of Democracy (NID) Naita Hishoono also highlighted the role of the private sector.

“I'm also missing the private sector here because the government and the private sector have to work together. We are still living with two economies in Namibia.”