Absalom Shigwedha
14 May 2008
Windhoek — A SWAPO councillor in the National Council has called on Government to introduce food subsidies to mitigate the high food prices.
Henock ya Kasita, who is also the Deputy Minister of Lands, said the salaries of civil servants should be increased as some households could hardly afford bread.
"Very soon, many houses will be sold out as their owners will not be able to pay for them," he said.
Ya Kasita suggested to The Namibian that one way of mitigating high food prices could be for the Government to subsidise the prices of basic foodstuff.
"If a bread costs N$7, people can buy it at N$5 as Government has already paid the other N$2 on people's behalf," Ya Kasita told The Namibian.
Worldwide food prices are going up and some of the reasons advanced are the continuous rise in fuel prices and the use of grain for the production of biofuels.
Another Councillor Barkias Namwandi for the Mariental Urban constituency, called for negotiations between the Office of the Prime Minister and recognised trade unions to review the whole civil service salary structure.
Namwandi said this was necessitated by the high food prices and other costs of living.
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