Namibians are very much committed to democracy, yet too nervous to demand equal access to resources and benefits of the country. The blame is largely placed on the middle class which, due to jobs and the relative comfort it enjoys, have apathy towards democratic participation, University of Namibia lecturer, Professor Andre du Pisani, said this week.

Du Pisani presented a short paper on 'Creating more democratic space in Namibia' at the launch of the third edition of the Guide to Namibian Politics by Graham Hopwood.
Du Pisani spoke of a democratic power which is “power to”, power that becomes a resources that empowers and ignites the potential of the human person and society, as opposed to power that advances the good of those who exercise and abuse power.
Namibia, he says, is very much democratic and its policy makers are committed to democracy. “There is a deep commitment to democracy,” he says. What he found lacking however is society's follow-up on performance of key institutions. Part of the reason, Du Pisani says, is that very few understand how such institutions work. Society is not being educated on the working mechanisms of such institutions such as Parliament. Also not much research work is being done on the performance of such key institutions.
Another challenge he found is the tension in the relationship between civil society and the state. Therein “lies inability of both the state and civil society agencies to understand the mutually constitutive nature of these two understanding of power,” says du Pisani.
Du Pisani also says the civil society is often to blame for its use of undemocratic language. “Civil society can be surprisingly uncivil,” says du Pisani. He said such a situation is an unfortunate one as the use of undemocratic language can stir political response that my control and regulate the civil society.