Namibia Media Sustainability Index (MSI)
April 24, 2013
About the MSI
IREX designed the MSI to measure the strength and viability of any country's media sector. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at scores on a scale ranging between 0 and 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Additionally, countries or regions may be compared to one another. IREX currently conducts the MSI in 80 countries, and began studying Africa in 2006.
MSI Overview | Africa | Asia | Europe & Eurasia | Middle East & North Africa
Download Complete Namibia Chapter (PDF): 2012 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2006/7
MSI Namibia – 2012 Introduction
Overall Country Score: 2.56
Namibia has earned the reputation of being one of the most media-friendly countries on the African continent. A report by Reporters without Borders (Press Freedom Index 2011/2012) noted that Namibia is among the “African countries where no attempts to obstruct the media were reported in 2011.” Reasons for the positive review include the adoption of a Code of Ethics for Namibian Media, which allows for self-regulation of media outlets; and the successful establishment of a self-regulating media ombudsman, who is responsible for addressing complaints from the public. In addition, the media field remains open and transparent, with a multitude of commercial, community, and public media outlets. A new radio station, HitRadio Namibia, oriented to Namibia’s German-speaking population, hit the airwaves in July 2012, bringing the total of commercial radio stations to eight.
Perhaps the most positive recent development was the government’s lifting of its longtime advertising ban of The Namibian newspaper. As reported in August 2011 by menafn.com (Middle East North Africa Financial Network), for 10 years a cabinet directive had restricted government ministries and departments from advertising in The Namibian and had forbidden government employees from purchasing the paper because of its perceived anti-government stance and criticism of government policies. The lifting of the directive allows government staff to purchase copies and place advertisements in the newspaper, as dictated by governmental tender requirements—thus giving governmental employees access to the paper’s information coverage.
Worryingly, however, violations against the media have occurred since the 2010 MSI, including defamation suits and assaults. Even government ministers have expressed outrage at the media. As detailed on the Namibian Sun newspaper’s website on November 17, 2011, Youth Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo publically ripped up a copy of the paper because it had angered him.
Politically, the country remains stable, with a majority-ruling party. However, opposition party protests of the 2009 National Assembly election results dragged on, reaching the Supreme Court. As reported by the African Elections Database, the ruling party, the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO), won 75.27 percent of the 2009 vote; followed by the RDP (Rally for Democracy and Progress) with 11.31 percent. Other parties received less than 4 percent of voter support.
Taken together, positive developments worked to increase slightly Namibia’s overall MSI score, from 2.40 in 2010 to 2.56 in 2012. MSI scores rose in the indicators for free speech, professional journalism, and plurality of news sources. However, lower scores in business management also reflected panelists’ concern with progress in that objective, especially the high cost of production and lack of proper market research on the media in Namibia. Supporting institutions continue their work, with little change in the corresponding score.
The Namibia study was coordinated by, and conducted in partnership with, the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa.
