The Namibian BIG Proposal in Perspective (from 2005)

This essay was originally published in the USBIG NewsFlash in May 2005. 

While the Namibian government balks at the difficulty of raising the $200 million it would need to provide its citizens with a minimum income of a little more than 50 cents ($0.50) a day, it is important to put that cost into the first-world perspective. At an interest rate of 5%, a permanent Namibian BIG could be financed by a bond with a one-time cost of $4 billion. At that price, according to Forbes Magazine’s rankings, 48 Americans could fund this Namibian BIG single-handedly, 35 of whom would still be billionaires afterward. In other words, any one of these 48 people could afford to finance a basic income for 1.7 million Namibians, not just for one year, not just for the rest of our lives, but for all the generations to come forever—or for as long as money makes interest.

If Bill Gates donated half of his fortune to Namibia, he could finance a permanent BIG six times the size that the Namibian BIG coalition thinks its government could afford, and Mr. Gates would still have $24 billion left to support his family. A BIG this size would give every Namibian a minimum income of $3 per day. It doesn’t sound like much until you remember that 3 billion people worldwide live on less than $2 per day. It would free Namibia from the abject poverty that three-fourths of its citizens have known since colonization. That is what only one man could do, how much more could a concerted effort on the part of first-world governments do?

-Karl Widerquist, Oxford, UK, May 1, 2005

Namibia May Be Considering Basic Income Grants

Namibia May Be Considering Basic Income Grants

The Ministry for Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare in Namibia has floated the possibility of introducing basic income grants for those between 19 and 59, according to Namibian national daily paper New Era.

The Ministry was set up in early 2015, following the landslide election of President Hage Geingob. It is headed by former Bishop Zephania Kameeta, who has a history of universal basic income (UBI) advocacy. A paper entitled Blue Print on Wealth Distribution and Poverty Eradication, put out by the Ministry in May 2016, stated that “measures should provide people with tools that build resilience and self sufficiency to break the cycle of poverty. Social safety nets are one of such measures that can help graduate people out of poverty to sustainable livelihoods.”

Reporting on an initiative by the Ministry to discuss implementation of the poverty eradication plan, New Era titled their article “Basic Income Grant Under Consideration”, and ended it with the sentence, “The ministry will also look into introducing a basic income grant for people between the ages of 19 and 59, who do not qualify for the existing grants yet do not have means to sustain themselves.” At the time of going to press, no external confirmation could be found of New Era’s statement on basic income grants; however, although the paper is technically owned by the New Era Publication Corporation, it is in fact openly run by the Namibian state and as such may have more detail on government policies than other national newspapers.

Namibia has a population of approximately two million people, and for some time was part of South Africa, only gaining independence in 1990. Geingob is the third President of an independent Namibia.

NAMIBIA: Demands Begin for Basic Income, Not Food Banks

NAMIBIA: Demands Begin for Basic Income, Not Food Banks

Earlier in the year, Namibia experienced setbacks in its hopes of introducing a national basic income. Instead, anti-poverty actions have been concentrated on job creation and the establishment of a food bank [1].

This was a particular disappointment, given that President Hage Geingob had declared basic income grants part of his anti-poverty agenda as recently as December 2015 [2].

The food bank program was rolled out on June 30, and some activists are now urging that it be supplemented or replaced by a basic income grant.

For instance, at the union’s July workshop for leaders and shop stewards, members of the Metal Allied Namibian Workers’ Union identified a basic income grant as one of several a policy urgently needed in Namibia [3].

As another example, Veparura Kandirikirira, the secretary general of the National Unity Democratic Organisation (NUDO) Party Youth League, was reported in The Namibian as saying that “the food bank programme does not provide much of a solution to sustain the lives of the poor as they may choose to sell the food aid from government” and that, instead of a food bank, a basic income grant should be adopted to combat poverty in Namibia. According to the report, Kandirikirira “said government should also not have to choose what people eat; instead, they should decide for themselves” [4].


[1] Albert Joerimann, “Setback for Basic Income movement in Namibia,” Basic Income News, May 31, 2016.

[2] Joe Timothy, “NAMIBIA: President unleashes new plan for Basic Income Grant,” Basic Income News, December 19, 2015.

[3] Ndama Nakashole, “Namibia: First Decent Work and Social Protection Workshop Held,” AllAfrica, July 19, 2016.

[4] “BIG is answer to poverty – Nudo youth,” The Namibian, July 19, 2016.


Photo Credit Sue Kellerman (2013) 

Thanks, as always, to my supporters on Patreon!

Setback for Basic Income movement in Namibia

Setback for Basic Income movement in Namibia

 

When Namibia’s president Hage Geingob appointed Bishop Zephania Kameeta as minister of poverty eradication and social welfare last year, the Basic Income activists saw this as a step towards the introduction of a nationwide Basic Income Grant (BIG). President Geingob was considered to be amongst the supporters of a BIG within the ruling SWAPO party, while Bishop Kameeta was the chairperson of Namibia’s BIG Coalition and an initiator of the BIG pilot project in Otjivero. At the beginning of April 2016, the president presented his state of the nation address as well as the “Harambee Prosperity Plan”, which focused on combating poverty by the creation of jobs through economic growth. There was no mention of a systematic redistribution of the existing wealth, even though Namibia has among the greatest income inequality of all countries, with a Gini index of about 60. The only specific anti-poverty measures mentioned by Namibia’s president have been the establishment of a “food bank” to benefit of the urban poor and a promise to provide jobless youth with grants, provided that they contribute to the activities of the food bank, identify beneficiaries, help to keep the streets clean and assist with “community policing”.

 

The ministry of poverty eradication is expected to present its own specific measures in the next few weeks, but it is doubtful that the introduction of a national BIG will happen in the near future. This is a serious setback for the hopes that have risen since the appointment of Bishop Kameeta. This is particularly disappointing since Namibia’s pilot project in Otjivero had not only shown how effective a BIG could be but also inspired people in Kenya to launch another big BIG pilot project in their country. This should have encouraged the Namibian government to implement the BIG on a national scale.

 

More information at:

Language: German

Von Herbert Jauch, “Food bank statt Grundeinkommen [A food bank instead of basic income]”, Junge Welt, April 13th, 2016

On why basic income has not yet been deployed: now it’s Namibia

On why basic income has not yet been deployed: now it’s Namibia

So the basic income implementation process in Namibia was halted1. Is that surprising?

After an amazing effort by minister Zephania Kameeta to get a basic income implementation program for Namibia up to the (minister) council, it was just swept away and replaced by a program intended to alleviate poverty through economic growth. The progressive approach was replaced by the traditional economic orthodoxy of endless growth and continued inequality. This program, named “Harambee Prosperity Plan”, also includes the creation of a food bank and grants for young people conditional on participation in this food bank and a few other community activities.

Let’s not forget that Namibia was one the few places on Earth where a basic income experiment was actually carried out (at Otjivero), and with excellent results. Among the positive results were better nutrition, clothing, and transportation, more savings and a rise in entrepreneurship. You could now be thinking: Ok, so they tried basic income in a pilot project with excellent results, and they had a minister who was a champion of the basic income who could take it on to national-level implementation. So what’s stopping them now? The answer seems simple, but it is also hard to deal with.

The answer is this:  big corporate interests need poverty. And it so happens that Namibia has plenty of poor people2. In a recent essay, a tentative connection was established between poverty (in economic terms) and the refusal/denial of the South African government to test for basic income, let alone implement it at the national level. Basically, the argument entails that government officials deny the proven advantages of basic income, delaying its development, to protect corporate interests. These interests profit massively from the cheap labour that a mass of helpless poor people can provide.

The economic structure of Namibia, as related to income, is not much different from the South African, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 2. The similarity is striking, hence the same unwillingness of the Namibian political elite to try out the implementation of basic income, despite all the theoretical and proven practical advantages it provides for the people.

safricahouseholdspread

Figure 1 – The spread of households within the income distribution in South Africa, 2008

 

namibiahouseholdincome

Figure 2 – The spread of households within the income distribution in Namibia, 2015

 

A clear image starts to appear. In these countries, poverty is an asset for big industry, which has, to a great extent, bought political power. So what can be done about it? Well, two things can happen: poverty-dependent corporations automate up to a great extent3, and/or Namibians put pressure on their elected officials – through democratic processes – to get basic income implemented, despite the corporate grip on regime politicians. The first one is highly probable, and so we will be watching a fading interest of corporations in financing political power, since with mechanical machines and Artificial Intelligence they can get their way even without resorting to poor human labour. The second one, less likely but entirely possible, may grow from the first one, when political leaders get less engaged with corporate power – and although remaining eager to please them, no longer have the same financial incentive, thus becoming more susceptible to democratic pressures.

Anyway, automation may actually not be a deterrent but rather a spark for some sort of basic income implementation. We seem to be facing a win-win situation for basic income: automation and/or democratic pressures will guarantee that basic income becomes a reality in the next few years in Namibia, and elsewhere. At this point, only ruthless autocratic power can dismiss it and keep it away for much longer. The time for change has come.

 

More information at:

Claudia and Dirk Haarnann, 2015. “Relief through cash: impact assessment of the emergency cash grant in Namibia”, July 2015

Claudia and Dirk Haarnann, 2015. “Piloting basic income in Namibia – critical reflections on the process and possible lessons”, Paper delivered at the 14th Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Munich – 14-16 th September 2012

André Coelho, “On why basic income has not yet been deployed”, Basic Income News, 17th March 2016

 

Notes:

1 – At the beginning of April 2016, the Namibian president presented his state of the nation address as well as the “Harambee Prosperity Plan”, which focuses on combating poverty by the creation of jobs through economic growth, plus the introduction of a food bank.

2 – According to the Republic of Namibia National Planning Commission “Poverty and deprivation in Namibia 2015”, the account for poverty is that 26,9 % of the population lives under the official poverty line.

3 – According the report “Technology at work v2.0”, it is estimated that in countries like Ethiopia the risk of job automation covers 85% of all jobs in the coming decades (other examples like China and India rate at 77% and 69% of automation risk, respectively).