User talk:Nghiiki Lazarus

Most Namibians still under the poverty line Submitted by Sun Reporter2 on Thu, 2011-09-15 08:42

View the full image foodLabour Consultant, Herbert Jauch

EXPANDING social protection and free provision of basic services, securing of national resources for public benefit and exploring new forms of economic ownership and participatory democracy is essential to eradicate poverty in Namibia.

According to the crude international poverty line of US$1 (N$7) per day, 62% of Namibians are living in poverty, that is, more than half of the country’s population.

The market-driven development paradigm of the past decades offers no hope for the poor, claims Herbert Jauch, a labor consultant, in his recent presentation on ‘Social Protection and Radical Change or Both in the Fight against Poverty in Namibia’.

He made the presentation during the August lecture series organised by University of Namibia, the Namibia Institute of Democracy and the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung on the UNAM campus.

He offered background information on the country’s poverty levels and said the state of affairs is that the country has extremely high levels of income inequality - a Gini Co-efficient of 0.74. It runs across gender, race, regional, ethnic, educational and class dimensions.

Jauch said subsistence farming is the main source of income in rural households and wages and salaries are the main sources of income for about 42% of households.

The state of affairs is, according to him, that a substantial number of formal and informal sector workers earn between N$300 to N$600 per month while managers in the civil service earn between N$30 000 and N$40 000 per month while managers in parastatals and large companies earn N$100 000 or more.

The official unemployment rate stands at 51%, 58% amongst women and 75% amongst those aged 16 to 24. According to the Household Subsistence Level, a survey carried out by University of Port Elizabeth, a basket of essential goods and services was more than N$399 per person per month in 2004, which means, 82% of Namibians are living in poverty.

He further said 540 000 Namibians are living in shacks, which is more than a quarter of the country’s population!

He said the development of 29% of children under five years of age is hindered or they are stunted and added that 17% of children are under-weight while 8% are wasted, according to a World Bank report.

The poor, according to the ‘Namibia Household Income and Expenditure Survey (2004)’, spend at least 60% of income on food and 28% of Namibians are living in poverty.

And according to the ‘Review of Poverty and Inequality in Namibia (2008)’ with basic needs at N$262, 45 per person per month in 2004 this survey estimates 28% of Namibians are living in poverty.

Jauch also pointed out that Namibia is ranked amongst the best, in fact second-best in ‘cost effectiveness’ for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa, with the 7th best FDI strategy in Africa and the overall 8th best country for FDI in Africa, according to FDI Intelligence, Financial Times, 2011.

He touched on Namibia in the Global Economy and said the ‘Structural Adjustment Programmes’ (SAPs) and the ‘Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers in Africa’ and the ‘Global South’ have had devastating social consequences.

To a large extent, Namibia’s economic policies followed the neo-liberal ideology embodied in the ‘Washington Consensus’.

He asked whether extended social services and social grants to combat poverty are sustainable and do they have the desired effect on household food security?

Regarding Global Social Protection, he said the emerging global consensus is that social security is a basic human right that is affordable even in developing countries. He argued that social security cannot be restricted to formal sector workers but must cover those in the informal and rural economies.

The Social Protection Floor (SPF) initiative seeks to guarantee access to essential; goods and services.

He maintained that Global Social Protection aims to prevent hunger, treatable diseases, lack of education, water and homelessness and that only people who are free from poverty can be productive. He stressed that increased incomes in poor households lead to direct and immediate local economic benefits. Business Author: Fred Goeieman

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