|
|
Namibia: Local Consumers in for Harsh Times
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Namibian (Windhoek)
16 April 2008
Posted to the web 16 April 2008
Tonderai Katswara
Windhoek
Workers are likely to start demanding increased wages as life has become unbearable for most, with food prices escalating mainly on the back of low supply and increased demand for consumer products such as milk and meat in China and India.
"I really don't know what to do.
Life has all of a sudden become tough.
Have you seen the price of cooking oil?" one frustrated Katutura woman, who only gave her name as Jessy, threw back a question at The Namibian.
Jessy's resigned tone and attitude reflects the growing frustration many Namibian consumers are experiencing.
Upon scrutiny one realises that the price of a two-litre bottle of ordinary cooking oil has shot up to almost N$40.
A one-litre box of fresh milk has gone up to around N$12, while a loaf of white bread now costs anything from N$6.
An ordinary beef pie - which many workers and students have for lunch on a daily basis - now costs around N$12.
Soft drinks, juices and alcoholic beverages have all gone up accordingly.
Local food prices have shot up by 40 per cent or more since the end of last year.
According to World Bank data released last week, global wheat prices went up by 181 per cent over the past 36 months to February and overall food prices have increased by 83 per cent.
The world bank says food prices have been affected by biofuels.
Due to the external forces behind the problem, the food crisis is not unique to Namibia as it is a global predicament, with protests having already erupted in many places including Ivory Coast, Guinea, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Italy and Haiti.
The World Bank last week predicted that more food riots would occur around the globe.
Jessy said: "I just wish the situation could improve.
I don't know how I will survive another month like this."
Unfortunately for Jessy and her fellow low- and middle-income earners, economists have predicted that the food crisis will be our companion for the rest of the year, and possibly into next year.
The poor are always the hardest hit because they have the least cash at their disposal.
Namibia as a developing country is plagued with poverty like most African countries and the current situation has a negative impact on the country's economic growth.
Unam's Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Dr Omu Kakujaha-Matundu, explained that the increase in food prices was leading to the recent upward pressure on inflation.
"Inflation is the increase in the general price level and food carries an important weight in the consumer basket.
That is, if you take the stuff (food, transport and communication, clothing etc) that are put in the basket by the Central Bureau of Statistics to compute the inflation rate, food is given a higher weight," he said.
The current US economic recession, droughts and floods in southern Africa, and the big drought in Australia - a major producer of wheat and milk - have also contributed heavily towards this world crisis.
Rising international oil prices have also adversely impacted on production.
Kakujaha-Matundu said the external factors influencing the price hikes included the US sub-prime mortgage chaos, which added to this vicious cycle.
"Fuel is an important input in most production activities like transporting goods from one point to another and mind you Namibia is a huge country; it is used in the fishing industry, in power generation, in farming etc.
And that is going to push production costs up - meaning that goods and services are going to get more expensive."
Kakujaha-Matundu said under such dire circumstances workers might eventually be forced to ask for higher wages, which could possibly lead to some companies retrenching.
He said: "Workers will start to demand higher wages as they can't make ends meet, but firms will complain about making no profits, and struggling because of high input (fuel) prices.
Firms at this time would like to lay off workers, but can't do so because of rigid labour laws.
"Tension will start building up due to strained labour relations.
Plus remember that we all use fuel in our cars."
Although consumers are feeling the pinch already and have been advised to tighten their belts, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and economic leaders (like G7 countries) have been discussing ways to deal with the world's financial and economic turmoil.
|
However, this might not bring immediate relief.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Namibian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
