One salary, many mouths to feed

Isabella Katjaimo earns N$23 000 a month, an income that might suggest the temporary teacher in Gobabis is doing reasonably well.

And yet: By the time deductions are made and everyone who depends on her has had their share, the picture looks very different.

Katjaimo takes home about N$18 000, but rent, groceries, transport, electricity, a personal loan, a retail account, insurance and support for relatives cost about N$18 500. She is already N$500 short before an emergency or unexpected expense arrives.

“People see the N$23 000 salary and assume you are financially stable, but the reality is different,” Katjaimo says.

“There are months where you have no choice but to borrow. Sometimes, you take another loan to cover an existing loan because you are trying to keep up with your responsibilities.”

The 2025 Namibia Financial Inclusion Survey (NFIS) shows that 74.6% of adults rarely or never make their income last until the next payday, while 63% struggle to keep up with their financial commitments.

The survey shows that 54.1% of adults earn N$2 000 or less a month, while only 2.2% earn more than N$11 000. Yet even for those fortunate enough to have jobs, a salary is rarely theirs alone.

Monica Namwenyo (26), a teacher in Okalongo earning about N$20 000, pays a cattle herder, contributes towards a cousin's school fees and supports two unemployed relatives. She also helps former classmates who are looking for work, sometimes spending up to N$1 800 on transport to interviews, photocopying and courier costs, while another N$2 000 can go to relatives without incomes.

“At the end of the day, the employed won't thrive because they have to carry those who are unemployed,” Namwenyo says.

The NFIS shows that when Namibians run out of money, 53% rely on family and friends for help, shifting some of the financial pressure from those without income onto those who do earn one.

In Rundu, retail worker Daniel Kavana (39) earns N$5 500 a month. About N$2 000 goes towards two cash loans, N$1 500 supports his two school-going children and approximately N$1 000 buys food for a household that includes his mother, leaving N$1 000 for transport, airtime, clothes and emergencies.

“When the salary comes in, it is already gone. You pay this one, you pay that one, and before you know it, there's nothing left,” Kavana says.

When the money runs out, he borrows between N$2 000 and N$3 000 from lenders, friends or relatives, creating another repayment commitment that slashes his next salary before it even arrives.

The NFIS shows that 49% of Namibian adults borrowed money or goods in 2025, up from 42.1% in 2017. Among borrowers, 51.3% borrowed for food, 22.1% for education and 16.4% for transport, while only 2.3% borrowed to start a business.

Government job

Namibia Correctional Service recruit Lukas Nehale, who lives in Omaruru, says that having a government job has not removed the pressure.

From his N$6 228 starting salary before deductions, N$1 200 goes towards rent, about N$1 000 towards taxis, N$700 towards food and between N$300 and N$500 towards airtime and toiletries, while relatives can receive as much as N$2 500.

“Having a government job gives you security, but it does not always guarantee financial freedom,” Nehale says.

Windhoek retail worker Tamara Kavezeri (24) earns N$6 000, of which N$3 000 goes to rent and N$1 600 to transport.

After another N$800 for groceries, she has about N$600 left for everything else.

“You can maybe buy yourself clothes or spoil yourself once every six months,” she says.

At Onandjokwe State Hospital, nurse Martha Gebhard (31) takes home about N$9 000 from a N$15 000 salary before deductions and spends approximately N$3 500 on food.

She is saving for further studies and has cut non-essential spending, including cosmetics, which she buys about twice a year and sometimes not at all.

“Food is my biggest pressure. The price is increasing every time,” Gebhard says.

No hope

Labour researcher Herbert Jauch says so many employed Namibians are struggling to meet monthly expenses – in fact, to meet their very basic needs – because of the low-wage economy.

He argues that high unemployment also suppresses wage growth because employers have a large pool of people competing for limited jobs.

“Unemployment in itself is a suppressant of wage development because employers now use the high levels of unemployment to justify their low wages and to get away with it,” Jauch says.

Namwenyo says her cost of living hasn't changed much over the past three years. What's changed is how much she can save, as her responsibilities have grown.

"I'm expected to take on as I grow older. Black tax is the largest contributing factor,” she says.

Last month, she impulsively bought a N$3 600 wig but says the greater pressure remains the number of unemployed people who depend on those working.

“Our unemployed relatives are now leaning and relying on us to meet their day-to-day needs because they have lost hope in finding employment,” she says.