Lahja Nashuuta
While State pension grant recipients might not have received the major increase they hoped for the Namibian government has reaffirmed its commitment to provide support the most vulnerable members of society through a boost in social safety nets’ expenditure.
Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises Iipumbu Shiimi said he is cognisant of high cost of living and allocated N$825 million towards social safety nets.
In his budget speech, tabled in the National Assembly yesterday, Shiimi set aside N$824.7 million “to maintain the real value of the social safety nets in the face of high inflation and given the high dependence ratio”.
Shiimi explained that the social safety nets budget is an extraction from the N$8 billion budget allocated to the Ministry of Gender, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGECW) during 2023/2024 financial year.
The government increased the MGECW budget from the N$5 billion allocated in 2023/2024 by 23.2%.
To honour late president Hage Geingob’s vision on pensioners’ welfare, Shiimi said the old age grant and the disability grant will be increased from N$1 400 to N$1 600 per month effective on 1 April
2024.
Statistics obtained from the MGECW indicate that there are more than 618 000 Namibians surviving on social grants. These include old-age pensions, grants for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and disability grants.
“We fully recognise the dream of our departed president for a significant increase in the old age grant, but we cannot afford to deliver on his dream in a single financial year,” Shiimi maintained.
He however said the government will continue to work towards it with gradual increases over time, as resources permit. Furthermore, the government has made provision to increase the frequency of food distribution to marginalized communities at a cost of N$170 million.
Statistics obtained from the MGECW indicate that by the end of last year, a total number of 29 004 households of marginalised communities are currently benefiting from the special feeding programme, where food items are provided.
The finance minister further announced that a budget of N$284.5 million has been set aside to cater and ensure full coverage of the Orphan and Vulnerable Children Grant.
According to MGECW, there are currently 356 756 orphans and vulnerable children receiving N$350 grant monthly.
At least 50 927 Namibians are currently benefiting from disability grants.
Meanwhile, the finance minister has indicated that the budget allocation of the Office of the Prime Minister will remain steady at N$1.1 billion in 2024/25 financial year.
However, he was quick to indicate that provisions to the tune of N$700 million has been made to cater for drought relief in the eventthe 2024 rain season disappoints.
The Agricultural Inputs and Household Food Security Situation Report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry shows that 579 000 Namibians (22% of the population) mainly living in rural areas are faced with high levels of acute food insecurity.
In his budget speech, Shiimi maintained that investments in the social sectors remain imperative for a developing economy like Namibia as it is crucial for cultivating the long-term productive capacity of the economy, cushioning the social strata against vulnerabilities as well as broadly improving the living standards in the country.
“As such, we continuously prioritise allocations to the social sectors to improve access to and quality of public services while safeguarding the gains made thus far on social and human development indicators,” he said.