The National Council has recommended expanding social grants to unemployed Namibians aged 18 to 59, following a study on the basic income grant. The standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs has urged the government to extend social grants to include these citizens, who do not receive benefits from existing social safety nets. The recommendation comes from the standing committee’s investigative report on the benefits of the basic income grant (BIG) for the Otjivero-Omitara communities in the Omaheke region. The committee was mandated by the National Council after it passed a motion emphasising the importance of adopting a universal BIG as a means to provide social protection for poor and vulnerable Namibians. The committee’s vice chairperson, Emma Muteka, tabled the report for adoption during a National Council session on Thursday. She said the investigation found that the implementation of a BIG has improved living conditions at the two settlements which relied on old-age pensions and child grants. “Economic activities at the settlement increased, some beneficiaries combined their income and built proper structures with iron sheets, and some managed to send their children back to school. Some started small businesses such as brickmaking, selling ice, baking bread, dressmaking and shoe repairs, which improved their livelihoods,” she said. In 2005, a coalition of non-governmental organisations proposed the BIG programme, which aims to give every Namibian a monthly cash grant of at least N$100. The project was piloted at Otjivero-Omitara from January 2008 to December 2009, with 1 000 beneficiaries. Muteka said the committee has observed that Namibia has various social assistance programmes which are not synchronised or well publicised to effectively reach the target beneficiaries. Namibia has several cash-transfer programmes, including the old-age grant, disability grant, and grants for vulnerable children. Other programmes include the school-feeding programme and the drought-relief programme. The government has also transitioned the old food bank programme to a monthly cash grant of N$600 for vulnerable people, Muteka said. “We commend the government for the various social assistance programmes in place, however, we observed that there are no programmes in place that target the vulnerable people in the age group 19 to 59, unless the person is disabled,” she said. The committee advised the government to learn from the social grant systems of South Africa and Botswana. Muteka said South Africa has a social relief distress grant that supports unemployed individuals aged 18 to 59 who are not included in the social assistance programme. In addition to social grants, Botswana has a youth development fund that provides support for unemployed young people aged 18 to 35 by funding income-generating projects. This fund offers 50% loans and 50% grants and also assists citizens who earn less than N$3 422 per month. The post Govt urged to introduce unemployment social grant appeared first on The Namibian.

Justicia Shipena  Residents of Otjivero–Omitara say their lives have worsened since the Basic Income Grant (BIG) pilot program ended.  They report increased hunger, crime, and school dropouts in the settlement. These concerns appear in a new report by the National Council’s Standing Committee on Health, Social Welfare, and Labour Affairs.  The committee, chaired by Emma Muteka, held consultations with community members and other stakeholders.  They conducted door-to-door interviews to hear directly from beneficiaries and assess the long-term impact of the BIG pilot. Before the BIG, the community relied mainly on old-age pensions and child grants.  The majority of the residents were unemployed former farmworkers, dismissed or abandoned by their previous employers. During the BIG pilot, each registered resident received N\$100 per month, regardless of any other social grants they received.  “The grant was non-discriminatory, and every registered person benefited, irrespective of their social standing,” the report said. The committee found that the grant helped families afford groceries and school supplies.  Some started backyard gardens and small businesses like bread baking, brick-making, and sewing.  Children who had dropped out returned to school. The crime rate dropped, especially stock theft on nearby farms. “It is clear that the BIG improved the quality of life in Otjivero-Omitara. We were told that household poverty dropped significantly, economic activity increased, and children returned to school. Unfortunately, these gains have largely been reversed since the grant ended,” Muteka said. Since the program ended, residents have said economic activity has collapsed, hunger and malnutrition have increased, and alcohol abuse has risen.  Petty crime has also gone up, and some young people hunt illegally on nearby farms and end up in prison. “The people are suffering. There is no income, no development, and children are once again dropping out of school due to hunger and the inability to afford uniforms,” a community member told the committee. The BIG pilot at Otjivero-Omitara started in 2008, and at the time, was the first of its kind in Namibia and Africa.  It targeted residents living in the area since July 2007. No new registrations were allowed after that date. Elsewhere, 53,381 permanent beneficiaries currently receive the monthly State Disability Grant.  Another 6,124 individuals with temporary disabilities receive a monthly allowance of N\$1,600 under the same grant.  These grants are for Namibian citizens or permanent residents aged 16 to 59 who have been medically diagnosed by a state doctor as temporarily or permanently disabled. The disability grant is one of several social assistance programs managed by the Integrated Social Assistance System (ISAS).  ISAS aims to support disadvantaged and vulnerable groups across Namibia. Other grants include the Old Age Grant for people aged 60 and above, the Vulnerable Children’s Grant, the Child Disability Grant, and the newly introduced Conditional Basic Income Grant.  The latter targets urban poor and former food bank recipients. The committee noted that the Ministry of Finance has prioritised expanding the Conditional Basic Income Grant this financial year in regions such as Kavango East, Kavango West, and Kunene.