Introduction: Interest Groups, the Kunene River and Epupa’s Imperative

Abstract

Interest groups’ pervasiveness in society stretches from the domestic arena into the transnational hydropolitical domain. These non-state entities are one of the channels or mechanisms with which citizens can get into contact with government. It was through the establishment and operation of interest groups that stakeholders engaged the Namibian government and other state actors over the proposed Epupa Dam in the Kunene River basin. The Kunene River, shared by Angola and Namibia, has vast hydro-electric potential because of the rivers’ steep gradient. A number of hydro-electric installations, like Gove Dam, Matala Barrage and the Ruacana hydro-electric station in Angola, had already been constructed when Namibia gained independence in 1990. To augment Namibia’s dwindling energy resources, the Namibian government decided, in the 1990s, to construct the proposed Epupa hydro-electric power plant across the Kunene River. That Namibia was experiencing an energy shortage was one of the reasons for the plans to construct Epupa. Even so, the dam is until today just a planned construction project.