Pension hike could push social grants bill to N$9 billion - Humavindu NBC Online Thu, 09/04/2025 - 18:01

NamPost to oversee social grant rollout from October NBC Online Mon, 08/25/2025 - 14:34

Omuthiya hosts forum on social grant changes NBC Online Thu, 08/14/2025 - 10:15

Allexer Namundjembo Political leaders have expressed mixed reactions to the government’s decision to appoint Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) as the official distributor of social grants. Last week, the ministry of finance announced that NamPost would take over the distribution of all social grants across Namibia, replacing private contractors as part of efforts to centralise public service delivery through state-owned entities. The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement welcomed the appointment.  AR spokesperson George Kambala called it a progressive and strategic move that aligns with the movement’s goal of returning control of essential services to public institutions.  “This shift provides an opportunity to strengthen public institutions and improve service delivery for vulnerable citizens who depend on social grants, including pensioners, caregivers and people with disabilities,” said Kambala. He warned that NamPost must resolve operational issues for the transition to work.  He cited short branch hours, understaffing, and liquidity problems that could affect service delivery.  Kambala added that clear communication is essential, especially in rural areas, to ensure grant beneficiaries are informed about the changes.  He said the AR movement would monitor the rollout to ensure the transition is implemented with dignity and accessibility. Meanwhile, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe said some pensioners already receive grants through NamPost, which has given them more control over their finances. “For those unable to physically withdraw cash, swiping at shops offers a convenient and dignified alternative,” he said. Ngaringombe said some grant recipients still rely on relatives to collect their payments, and in some cases, this support is misused.  “This undermines the financial freedom and dignity of the intended beneficiaries and must be addressed with urgency,” he said. He raised concerns about NamPost’s presence in remote areas and urged the government to ensure wider coverage to avoid excluding rural citizens.  Ngaringombe also questioned the process behind NamPost’s appointment and asked if a public tender was issued.  “In a country still grappling with corruption in state-owned enterprises, transparency is non-negotiable,” he said. At the back of it, NamPost has launched an urgent internal investigation into allegations of unauthorised withdrawals from a pensioner’s account.  This follows after 75-year-old Katutura resident Petrina Sikela filed a legal complaint, claiming that N$10,560 was withdrawn from her account over five months without her knowledge or consent. “Safeguarding the trust and finances of our elderly citizens must be a top priority,” said Ngaringombe.

The Ministry of Finance has declared that NamPost will become the official provider of cash social grant payments from 1 October 2025. This transition aims to improve access and streamline...

NamPost to take over social grant payments from October NBC Online Tue, 07/29/2025 - 14:14

SASSA says it will investigate the problem

Social justice advocate Rinaani Musutua has taken aim at the Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah administration, accusing it of abandoning its promise to expand social grants. According to Musutua, the government’s inaction on...

[Namibian] A parliamentary committee has urged the government to unify social grants and boost funding after assessing the impact of the Omitara basic income grant pilot project.

A parliamentary committee has urged the government to unify social grants and boost funding after assessing the impact of the Omitara basic income grant pilot project. The parliamentary standing committee on health, social welfare, and labour affairs has recommended that the government synchronise all social grant programmes to avoid the duplication of beneficiaries. This recommendation follows the committee’s consultations on 5 August 2024 and 9 May this year on the two-year basic income grant (BIG) pilot programme that was launched in the Omitara community. The programme involved about 1 000 registered beneficiaries – each receiving N$100 per month from January 2008 to December 2009. Standing committee chairperson Emma Muteka presented this report in the parliament on Thursday. It found that beneficiaries who were already registered on old-age pension grants, disability grants, and vulnerable children grants were also receiving the BIG’s N$100. This was due to a lack of synchronisation. Furthermore, the report recommends that the Ministry of Finance introduce an increase in revenue to boost safety nets by amending laws constitutionally to introduce new taxes on natural resources and tourism. “Establish an agency for the effective and efficient administration, management, and payment of social grants; implement programmes for vulnerable people in age groups not catered to by current grants; strengthen data collection capacity to ensure all vulnerable Namibians are cushioned,” the report says. The report found poverty dropped significantly among Omitara community households as families could afford basic groceries, cosmetics, and clothing. According to the report, the residents also embarked on starting backyard gardens to supplement drought-relief food that often came late. “Some beneficiaries also combined their N$100 and started small businesses such as brickmaking, selling ice, baking bread, dressmaking, and shoe repairs. “Grandparents can send their children back to school, buy school uniforms, and afford to pay school fees . . . “Residents also combined BIG grants, bought corrugated iron sheets, and built themselves decent structures,” the report states. It says once the pilot programme ended, a significant rise in hunger and sickness, including malnutrition, was noted. Additionally, young people who resorted to illegal hunting landed in prison, while petty crimes committed by young children increased due to hunger and poverty. “Alcohol consumption has increased badly. Some children dropped out of school due to the unaffordability of school uniforms and hunger when returning home from school,” the report says. The post MPs call for grant system overhaul appeared first on The Namibian.

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.

MPs urge GOVT to up public health service to private care standards NBC Online Sat, 05/03/2025 - 16:06

[Namibian] The Ministry of Finance and Social Grants Management has proposed an allocation of N$212 million in the 2025/26 financial year to settle the Meat Corporation of Namibia's (Meatco) outstanding loan with the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) and to enhance the corporation's operational liquidity.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has announced that increasing the old-age social grant can only be done within the 2025/26 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), which spans the next three to five years. Nandi-Ndaitwah, while delivering her maiden state of the nation address in parliament on Thursday, said while she supports the gradual increment of the old-age pension from N$1 600 to N$3 000, the government cannot afford an increment this year. “We had to take the very difficult decision this financial year not to increase the old-age social grants. This is due to the urgent need to prioritise our children, the young people, by constructing sport infrastructure and funding youth-related empowerment initiatives that will lead to job creation for our youth. “I give you my assurances that the incremental increase of our old-age social grants will start during this MTEF,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said. The old-age pension grant currently has 217 870 beneficiaries, with N$5.49 billion allocated for social grants, which includes N$979 million towards veterans welfare. The post Nandi-Ndaitwah says pension increase promised will be planned in 3-5 years appeared first on The Namibian.

[Namibian] Tenderpreneurs are set to have a good year after finance and social grants management minister Erica Shafudah yesterday increased the development budget to N$12.8 billion.

[Namibian] Minister of finance and social grants management Ericah Shafudah has increased the amount of money retirees can withdraw from their pension funds to N$375 000.

Minister of finance and social grants management Erica Shafudah has tabled a N$106.3 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year. This is a N$6.2 billion increase from the budget tabled last year. N$79.8 billion of that budget will be allocated to operational expenditure while N$12.8 billion is budgeted for development expenditure. The government’s spending plans will result in a budget deficit of N$13.7 billion – another increase from N$8.9 billion last year. The post Shafudah tables N$106,3 billion budget appeared first on The Namibian.

South Africa’s social relief grant has enabled recipients to search for work or start small businesses.

Governments around the world use social grants to help the poor. It’s no different in South Africa. But what happens if the help is not enough? Find out from a family in the rural Eastern Cape.