Urban poverty and sustainable development in Namibia : a case study of Keetmanshoop

M.A. (Development Studies)Namibia is a land of great disparities with regard to income distribution and access to resources, which results in the experience of poverty by selected groups of her people. A superficial glance at poverty indicators in Namibia, such as Gross Domestic Product per capita, would not illustrate the depth of the problem that skewed income distribution and access to resources, as indicated by the Gini Coefficient and Human Development Index respectively, would highlight, for the different regions and communities within Namibia. This study aimed to investigate the extent of urban poverty in Keetmanshoop, as very little research had been undertaken in the southern parts of Namibia. Keetmanshoop faces an additional challenge in proactively planning for development alternatives, in view of the nearing completion of the Trans-Kalahari Highway, which will provide an alternative transport route between Gauteng (in South Africa) and Angola, and Zambia, via Namibia. It was anticipated that this would greatly reduce the amount of road traffic through Keetmanshoop and subsequently reduce the economic activity of the town. At the heart of this study were three broad aims, namely to establish a basis of information on the socio-economic conditions experienced by the residents of Keetmanshoop. Secondly, to determine the residents' attitudes towards, and perceptions of development opportunities and needs in the research area. Finally, it was aimed to identify the value of sustainable development as an appropriate development approach and thereby establish a theoretical framework for the contextualization of the development alternatives recommended for Keetmanshoop. In order to establish this base of information four research methods were utilised, namely informal in-depth-interviews with 18 community leaders, formally structured survey schedules with 500 respondents, follow-up personal interviews with 30 residents and a community essay competition..