WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT
About 60% of workers in Namibia have no access to social security, medical aid schemes or pensions, while the unemployed have no guaranteed social protection at all.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Services has signed an agreement with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) aimed at informing Namibians about the country's social protection measures.
Therefore a Social Expenditure Review will be conducted that will include the potential impact of the national pension and medical benefit funds to be introduced. It will also advise the government on the feasibility of introducing an unemployment insurance scheme.
Labour Minister Doreen Sioka says although Namibia is classified as a lower-middle-income country it is plagued by extensive poverty and unemployment. Yet Namibia does not have unemployment insurance, said Sioka.
The Social Security Commission established in 1994 has maternity, sickness and death benefit funds and provides coverage for about 343 000 people in the formal sector, mostly in the public service.
Sioka pointed out that the Social Security Act provides for the establishment of a national pension fund and national medical benefit fund too.
The Social Security Commission has commissioned consultants to do the necessary preparatory research to pave the way for establishing these funds, she added.
The deputy minister of labour, Alpheus Muhehua, said social pensions have a considerable impact on society. State pensioners currently receive N$550 a month, which will soon increase to N$600.
It is impossible to grow the economy without paying attention to a country's social protection systems, he stressed.
The review will assess whether the government's current social spending is in line with the national development goals. The affordability and sustainability of the current social welfare grants and social security systems, as well as any additional measures, will be established during the review.
Sioka said the review will also investigate what tax changes might be considered to fund the provision or expansion of social protection measures.
The review will also assess the effect of inflation on welfare grants, and whether the current benefits are cost effective and in line with international benchmarks.
The information will put the public in a position to make informed decisions about the social protection measures to be put in place.
