NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Professor Peter Katjivivi says Parliament supports the distribution of the Basic Income Grant (BIG).
He was speaking during the launch of a website called ‘Namibia’s Past – We hear you’ at Fesmedia Namibia offices last Thursday.
This comes after Naafimane Hamukoshi, a youth, raised concerns about the BIG, stating that the youth have lost hope in the Namibian economy.
“Let us keep the hope alive; don’t give up just yet. We, the National Assembly, have something called the Children’s Parliament, which meets from time to time to discuss issues related to young people, particularly secondary school. Every region countrywide has a representative on that. I am extremely proud of the decisions they make,” Katjavivi said.
He added that the representatives meet in May to reflect on critical issues affecting the youth.
“Some of these young people are now coming to Parliament, and the minister of information, Emma [Theofelus], who is supposed to be here today, went through that experience. One thing I am proud of is that many of the parliamentarians come from different backgrounds, and the younger generation is adding value to the work of Parliament. Therefore, don’t give up hope,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hamukoshi, the board member of economic, social and justice trust, expressed concern over promises made by the government but are never fulfilled.
She believes more young people should be given a platform to contribute to decision-making in the country.
“There is so much we can do. If it means going to Parliament and protesting, let’s go. But at this point, I don’t know what we are going to do because we always talk to our leaders, we always make compromises, and they always make empty promises,” Hamukoshi lamented.
A clearly irate Hamukoshi added that young people are frustrated, they do not know what to do, and are hurt by the decisions taken by the government and how the country is being run.
She added that Namibia was the first country to come up with the pilot project of the universal basic income grant. But not much has happened since then, she said.
“When we look at the population in Namibia, it is so much smaller than that of South Africa, yet South Africa is making advancements compared to Namibia,” she said.