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In order to fulfill their mandate sub-national governments need adequate support. Human resources capacity needs to be created to promote good governance practices and improved service delivery. For this reason, the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) was established in 2010. NIPAM was established by an Act of Parliament, NIPAM Act 2010 (Act 10 of 2010). The aim is to transform public service through training of public officials to create and improve the capacity, professionalism and competence of both junior and senior management. “It also aims at fostering a climate of purpose, values and professional traditions amongst public sector employees” (NIPAM, 2012:1). These functions are carried out in terms of section 5 of the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management Act 10 of 2010.

©University of South Africa 147 In particular, the Act spells out the mandates of NIPAM as “to provide administration and management training, instilling a performance culture in the Namibian public sector through capacity development, consulting and research, operational excellence, capacity development evaluation and strategic partnerships” (NIPAM, 2012:1). Essentially, since its inception, NIPAM has adopted a five-strategic plan which guides and spells out its operations. The document indicates that NIPAM offers training and development programmes in the following areas (NIPAM 2012:14):

• Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP);

• Middle Management Development Programme (MMDP);

•Middle Management Development Programme for Regional and Local Government (MMDP-RLG); and

• Foundation Programme (FP).

Moreover, NIPAM (2012:23) clarifies that the “MMDP-RLG programme is aimed at building skills, knowledge, competences and the capacity for middle public managers in regional and local governments, to enable them to provide effective leadership in governance and policy implementation at sub-national levels. According to NIPAM (2012:23) “the main goal of the MMDP-RLG is to contribute to the process of decentralisation, the improvement of regional and local service delivery, and the strengthening of regional and local economies, by developing the capacities of middle managers in regional and local authorities”. Furthermore, the programme deals with six areas of governance and service delivery (NIPAM, 2012:23). They are as follows:

• democratic decentralization realisation;

• financial resources management;

• provide good leadership and management;

• performance improvement;

• continuous development; and

• communication.

Statistics shows that since the establishment of NIPAM, about 226 regional and local government officials were trained in areas as indicated above (NIPAM, 2012:22). This, notwithstanding, the effectiveness of this MMDP-RLG programme is yet to be known, as the NIPAM has only been in existence for the past four years. No evaluation has been conducted to

©University of South Africa 148 determine the impact of the NIPAM’s training of regional and local government officials’ performance. In essence, this is a serious shortcoming that needs to be addressed. Evaluation of NIPAM trainees is imperative to ensure that trainings offered by the institution make a significant impact on regional and local governance and service delivery. Thus, it is important to conduct impact evaluation to determine the effectiveness of these important training programmes. In contrast, this study argues that regional and local governments stand a good chance to strengthen the capacity of public officials through these kinds of training by NIPAM. This will improve governance practices and service delivery at sub-national level.

3.8 SUMMARY

Service delivery in Namibia is a constitutional requirement. The State is duty-bound to come up with policies and strategies aimed at addressing social and economic challenges. This improves the living standard of citizens. The colonial past indicates segregated governance practices and imbalanced distribution of resources and services. There was also no ‘check and balances’ in place. In this respect, chapter three has discussed the essentiality and value of public administration, good governance and service delivery in society. The relationship thereof and the governance framework model have been discussed in this chapter.

The ascension to democracy in 1990 has seen various reforms of public service in Namibia. The creation of sub-national government structures to address social and economic problems was noted as a major step towards improved quality of life at sub-national levels. Similarly, decentralisation policy helped bring services and decision making power closer to people. In addition, the Ombudsman’s Office and Anti-Corruption Commission were created to address maladministration and corrupt practices respectively. This was done to ensure that public service is properly regulated. It is also aimed at ensuring that state resources are utilised in a manner as prescribed by law, and without corrupt intention. In this regard, good governance, transparency and accountability can be enhanced.

This chapter has also revealed that even though administrative reform has taken place and governance strategies have been introduced and implemented, more still needs to be done to improve the Namibia’s public service. Issues such as institutional arrangements, capacity building, acceptable public ethics, accountability and active participation by citizens remain

©University of South Africa 149 challenges to the public sector. Therefore, the researcher has suggested that a ‘process model’ of governance can help improve public service in Namibia.

Having concluded the chapter on the conceptual framework, the subsequent chapter four will deal with literature review in order to provide a deeper understanding of governance and service delivery in a broad perspective.

©University of South Africa 150 CHAPTER 4