A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of The National Planning Commission Officers And Commercial Printers’ Directors On The Distribution Of The Namibian Government Publications

ABSTRACT

The study set out to establish the perceptions of the National Planning Commission officers and those of the directors of the commercial printers on publishing, printing and distribution processes of the Namibian Government publications. The study was motivated by the preliminary literature review which revealed that decentralized distribution systems of government publications can impede access to information. The research adopted a qualitative approach which employed a case study method of inquiry. Data collection was by means of voice recorded interviews. The findings revealed that some of the variables which influence publishing, printing and distribution functions at the National Planning Commission are cost effectiveness, control over subject content, and the adoption of the cost recovery policy by the National planning Commission. Findings also showed that there is no policy on publishing, printing and distribution of the Namibian Government. Some of the major recommendations made by the study are the establishment of an administrative department within the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology for publishing, printing and distributing Namibian Government publications; establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee for coordination of government publishing, printing and distribution processes; formulation of Information Policy that covers all aspects of government information production and conditions of accessibility.