Catherine Sasman
20 November 2007
Windhoek — One of the key result areas identified in the third National Development Plan (spanning 2007/08 to 2011/12) is the attainment of equality through equitable access to basic social and welfare services.
Important in this quest, is the provision of access to these services to the vulnerable and marginalised segments of society, stated the National Planning Commission (NPC).
The Namibian Government further identified the need to reduce inequalities in social welfare, to instill a culture and morality especially among the youth, and gender equality.
The vulnerable and marginalised groups are identified to include the elderly (those of 60 years and older) constituting about seven percent of the total population; people with disabilities (four percent of the population); orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) under the age of 15 (numbered at about 97 000 in 2001 and expected to increase to 250 000 by 2012); children at risk of child labour, exploitation and abuse; women (accounting for 51.3 percent);
the youth (those between 15 and 30, forming about one-third of the population); and those affected by substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse.
Progress Made During NDP2 Period
Gains made during the second development period were mixed. It was intended for 95 percent of the elderly to receive social grants, but only 82 percent were reached.
A similar target was set for people with disabilities, but only 40.8 percent were covered, and rehabilitation, job creation opportunities and increased access to public facilities to this sub-group, did not materialise.
During NDP2 government assistance to OVC was provided in the form of foster parent allowances, subsidies to welfare organisations, and maintenance grants to children's homes and places of safety.
And while child labour practices - inclusive of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) - were not dealt with as a specific issue, other crosscutting issues such as poverty and hunger, the reduced spread of HIV/AIDS and its effects and increased gender equality, were addressed.
However, according to the 1999 Namibia Child Activities Survey (NCAS), 23 percent of children in rural areas were working, as opposed to 2.3 percent in urban centres. Of these, 40000 (55 percent) were under the age of 14, and 10 percent were in paid employment. Sixty-six percent of these children were working on subsistence farms, and 1.8 percent on commercial farms, with 18 percent working in their own homes and 6 percent in their employers' homes.
Some progress has been made towards gender equality, but cognisance is taken that gender disparities are still deeply entrenched as manifested in the low representation of women in the political, social and economic spheres.
But progress on this count has been recorded in education, power decision-making, legislation development and employment in both the public and private sectors.
Of grave concern is that no significant progress has been made to alleviate unemployment among the youth, and this situation is in fact becoming worse. The HIV/AIDS scourge further negatively affected the performance of the youth as the most infected and affected. It was further acknowledged that youth participation in development programmes and decision-making processes should be improved upon.
To strengthen the Namibian society, it was also acknowledged that multiculturalism should be encouraged to foster mutual respect through a combination of knowledge and skills.
Reducing Inequalities in Social Welfare
Although social welfare interventions cost the government 27 percent of the national budget, an urgent need to review the social security set is recognised.
But there are formal and informal safety nets. These include the Basic State Grants to the elderly and people with disabilities; the payment of subventions to war veterans; the provision of subsidized housing to the elderly in some towns; and the provision of a Funeral Benefit Plan to identified beneficiaries.
Under these programmes, there are 145666 beneficiaries, of whom 126919 are elderly people and 18747 people with disabilities. A total of 1800 war veterans receive a monthly allowance of N$500, and the funeral benefit is valued at N$2200.
Under the NDP3, it is envisaged that a National Pension Fund will be established to increase the proportion of the vulnerable population that currently benefits from safety net programmes.
Another concern is the dire need for affordable quality housing. The current housing backlog is estimated at 80000 in urban areas, and higher in rural areas. To alleviate this situation, the Shack Dwellers Association receives a yearly N$1 million subsidy to assist the poor in securing housing. But because the subsidy is so low, this has resulted in people building mostly corrugated iron sheet housing.
In addition to this, local authorities have a "build together" programme that caters for the so-called "welfare cases". This programme also provide loans to individuals whose income is less than N$3000 per annum, as well as lending to single quarter transformation projects and informal settlement upgrades.
Those earning more than N$3000 per annum has to approach the National Housing Enterprise or commercial banks for housing loans.
It is visualised that under NDP3 95 percent of all Namibians eligible for grants would be covered. This is the same target set out during the NDP2 period, which was not reached.
Furthermore, it is anticipated that an increase in grants to the elderly and people with disabilities will be increased from N$370 to N$500 per month, to secure a U.S.$2-per-day level. Pay points of these grants will be increased by 10 percent.
Another target is to extend funeral benefits to war veterans, and this benefit is set to increase across the board in line with inflation.
It is envisaged to reduce child labour by 25 percent, and child trafficking or abduction cases be eliminated completely.
The relevant pending Bills will be promulgated, including the Child Care and Protection Bill and the Child Justice Bill.
It if further predicted that the percentage of girls and boys completing secondary school will increase from 30 to 60 percent.
Culture, Tradition and Morality
Namibia is a multicultural nation, and Government policy is geared to create a flourishing united nation.
National reconciliation, stability, peace, equality, tolerance and inclusion as expressed in Government's Vision in Arts and Culture Policy of 2001, are viewed as pivotal pillars in the achievement thereof.
But mistrust, tribalism and racism remain to be problematic 17 years after Independence.
During the NDP2 period, a lot of effort has reportedly gone into addressing mutual understanding and tolerance of all cultures, as well as to optimise the economic contribution of arts and culture.
This was done through policy development, training, institution building, the establishment of more than 500 School Culture Clubs for Development where teachers and learners are active in music, dance, history, science, social skills, and so on. Other activities included festivals, research into traditions, norms, values and belief systems prevalent in the country, and so on.
During the NDP3 period, the aim is to develop policies and legislation for culture industries in particular culture villages and for culture tourism.
A revision of the Arts and Culture Policy is also in the pipeline. Others include the establishment of more school culture clubs, to establish a link to culture festivals and culture tourism, to give professional training to cultural practitioners, and develop theatre capacity in all Namibian languages and link this to materials and craft development, as well as consciousness-raising around nation building.
Gender equality
Gender equality or a lack thereof - cross cuts the lines of ethnicity, geography, race and power in Namibia.
To mitigate the gender-power balance, the Namibian Government, non-governmental organizations and development partners have embarked on a number of interventions.
The Ministry of Gender and Equality and Child Welfare was established, and the government has expressed its commitment to ensure that gender issues are integrated into all policies, procedures and programmes.
But gender disparities remain pertinent, but certain gains have been made.
Seventeen years after independence women's representation and participation in bodies of power and decision-making exceeded the SADC Gender Declaration of 30 percent by 2005.
A significant women representation is obvious in certain sectors: 33 percent in the public service; 33 percent in private companies; 45 percent at local authorities; but women's representation in parliament and parastatals lags behind by 27 percent and 22 percent respectively.
This picture, however, gives a glimpse of mostly urban women, and less so for women in rural areas.
According to the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, the aim is to have 50 percent women representation in decision-making positions.
The assessment of women's participation in decision-making at household level is similarly viewed as important to address socialisation and transformation. A gender analysis of the household survey is yet to be done.
As far as girls and boys are concerned, the government reported significant improvement in access to education in 2001, where the enrolment ratio in both primary and secondary education exceeded 100 percent.
But the survival rate of girls at upper primary level is 76 percent, and for boys it is 82 percent.
Moreover, improvements have been registered in early childhood development, where more than 59.5 percent of girls and 40.4 percent boys have been enrolled in kindergartens and crèches over the country. But less attention was paid to vulnerable children like the Ovahimba, San and children on commercial farms.
At tertiary level, it is reported that more females enter consistently than males. At the University of Namibia (UNAM), for example, 5633 women entered in 2003, as opposed to 3149 males. But female enrolment is concentrated in the medical and health science and educational sectors.
NDP 3 envisages a concerted raising of targets in women representation in all spheres to reach the 2015 goal of 50 percent equality.
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