Accounts and accountability: global norms and codes of conduct in Namibian advocacy NGOs

Abstract

Global norms like accountability, transparency and good governance have long shaped political practice in postcolonial states. Especially, non-governmental organisations have used discourses of accountability to demand a say in public debates in the name of the people. This article analyses how discourses about accountability have shaped shared beliefs within and between NGOs in Namibia where the state has traditionally made strong claims to be the sole representative of national unity. Using different concepts of accountability NGO activists try to advance their position vis-à-vis colleagues, other organisations and the government. In these ongoing contestations agents use accountability sometimes in the sense of accounting and sometimes as moral answerability for one's actions. The article shows that global concepts provide agents with room for manoeuvre to advance their own position in a strong state and in internal fights for turf.

Keywords:

• NGOs
• postcolonial states
• accountability
• codes of conduct
• donors

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the people at NANGOF and at other organisations who took the time to share their views with the author and to Paul Nugent and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier versions of the paper.

Notes

Interview Project Coordinator (LAC) (12 September 2002).

OECD Development Statistics available at http://stats.oecd.org/qwids/#?x=2&y=6&f=3:51,4:1,1:2,5:3,7:1&q=3:51+4:1+1:2+5:3+7:1+2:1,121+6:2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008.2009 (last accessed 28 April 2010).

Research Notes (17 June 2008).

People are identified through their position within the NGO rather than by their names because according to the argument a person's particular position had a significant impact on his/her view on accountability.

The statistics about the exact number of NGOs are very unreliable, but the umbrella's annual NGO count lists about a thousand organisations which include many regional branches of larger national organisations.

Interview NANGOF Board member (1) (17 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF Board member (2) (17 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF Board members (1+2) (17 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF Board member (1) (17 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF director (19 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF ex-employee (7 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF director (19 May 2011).

Interview country representative Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (17 May 2011).

Research Notes (15 March 2008).

Interview country representative Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (17 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF director (19 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF Board member (1) (17 May 2011).

Interview NGO Liaison Officer (17 July 2008).

Interview representative in the EC delegation to Namibia (18 May 2011).

Interview NANGOF chairman of the Board (19 June 2008).

Research Notes (10 July 2008).

Research Notes (12 July 2008).

Interview Desert Research Foundation ex-project coordinator (7 May 2011).