Govt urged to form social grant agency
One-stop shop
New agency and tax reforms proposed for social grants.
Following a benchmark study with South Africa and Botswana, National Council member Emma Muteka has called for the creation of a dedicated agency to streamline the administration and payment of social grants in Namibia. Aimed at supporting a proposed Basic Income Grant (BIG) for adults aged 18 to 59, the initiative includes constitutional amendments to introduce taxes on natural resources and tourism to fund robust safety nets.
Muteka made the comments following the exercise aimed at studying mechanisms around a proposed basic income grant (BIG) targeted at individuals aged 18 to 59 by a National Council Committee on Health.
“As a committee having looked at the impact of the BIG pilot project, and the lessons learned from the Republic of Botswana and Republic of South Africa we are of the view that the government should establish a one stop Agency to ensure effective and efficient administration, management and payment of social grants,” Muteka said.
According to her, the Committee should also explore various revenue collection initiatives to supplement their budgetary allocation, synchronise all social grants to eliminate oversubscription and implement sustainable programs for vulnerable people in the age group of 18 to 59 not catered for by current grants.
It was necessary to ensure the Committee got to work on the creation of the agency ahead of the regional and local authority elections slated for November this year.
“As we are going to the polls in November, I implore members who will serve this Committee to continuously monitor and follow up on these very important tasks until each Namibian is taken care of,” Muteka said.
Meanwhile, the National Council Committee on Health recommended constitutional amendments that introduce new taxes on natural resources and tourism to increase revenue directed towards safety nets.
Other recommendations include the design and implementation of programmes for vulnerable people in age groups not catered for by current grants, the strengthening of capacity of stakeholders such as regional representatives/regional councillors to enhance program delivery and beneficiary identification, the strengthening of data collection capacity to ensure all vulnerable Namibians are cushioned, the synchronisation of social grants to eliminate oversubscription, and the design of guidelines and a monitoring mechanism for the use of grants and qualification criteria.
Muteka made the comments following the exercise aimed at studying mechanisms around a proposed basic income grant (BIG) targeted at individuals aged 18 to 59 by a National Council Committee on Health.
“As a committee having looked at the impact of the BIG pilot project, and the lessons learned from the Republic of Botswana and Republic of South Africa we are of the view that the government should establish a one stop Agency to ensure effective and efficient administration, management and payment of social grants,” Muteka said.
According to her, the Committee should also explore various revenue collection initiatives to supplement their budgetary allocation, synchronise all social grants to eliminate oversubscription and implement sustainable programs for vulnerable people in the age group of 18 to 59 not catered for by current grants.
It was necessary to ensure the Committee got to work on the creation of the agency ahead of the regional and local authority elections slated for November this year.
“As we are going to the polls in November, I implore members who will serve this Committee to continuously monitor and follow up on these very important tasks until each Namibian is taken care of,” Muteka said.
Meanwhile, the National Council Committee on Health recommended constitutional amendments that introduce new taxes on natural resources and tourism to increase revenue directed towards safety nets.
Other recommendations include the design and implementation of programmes for vulnerable people in age groups not catered for by current grants, the strengthening of capacity of stakeholders such as regional representatives/regional councillors to enhance program delivery and beneficiary identification, the strengthening of data collection capacity to ensure all vulnerable Namibians are cushioned, the synchronisation of social grants to eliminate oversubscription, and the design of guidelines and a monitoring mechanism for the use of grants and qualification criteria.
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