Govt failing the poor
Government has been called out for the manner in which it is handling the plight of the poor in the country.
A survey of more than 1 000 adult Namibians found that nearly half had gone without food at least once in the span of a year and 70% had gone without a cash income during the same period, and that the majority feel government is failing to address unemployment and poverty.
The Afrobarometer survey released this week by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), further shows the majority of Namibians are critical of government's handling of tackling unemployment and poverty, which they consider the country's most pressing problems.
Many also agreed that the defence budget should be cut and money rerouted to poverty eradication efforts, while social protection grants should be prioritised and taxes raised in favour of poverty reduction efforts. These results were captured in the latest round of the Afrobarometer national survey carried out last year, which represents a wide range of Namibian public opinion, as part of a regional research survey conducted in 37 African countries. The findings indicated that most Namibians “feel that government is handling key issues related to poverty 'fairly badly' or 'very badly'”.
In total, 75%, rated government's handling of key issues related to poverty and unemployment, including job creation, badly.
The results, on the topic of perceptions and experiences on poverty, unemployment and social protection, found that Namibians rate unemployment as the country's most pressing problem (66% of respondents) with poverty the second biggest problem (34%).
The IPPR highlighted that these views are widespread “despite the Harambee Prosperity Plan prioritising these issues amongst those that require attention, with the government already increased social grants”, including the old age grant and the establishment of the food bank in recent years.
The issue of land and the management of the economy ranked as the third and fourth most pressing problems faced by the nation according to those interviewed.
In terms of solutions, 66% of respondents said government should increase social protection grant spending, and 64% said that the defence budget should be cut in favour of poverty eradication and development, while 53% said raising taxes could re-direct spending on poverty reduction.
Of the 47% of rural and urban respondents who said they had gone without food at least once over the last year at the time of the survey, 50% lived in rural areas, and 44% in urban households.
Most of the respondents in the survey, 70%, said they had gone without a cash income at least once over the past year, of which 75% lived in rural households, and 66% in urban households.
Efforts to narrow the gaps between the poor and rich also got thumbs down; with 73% of the opinion not enough is being done to close the gap.
Nearly 60% of respondents rated the state's effectiveness in improving living standards as bad, and 50% said government is not doing enough to ensure that “everyone has enough to eat”.
The latest Afrobarometer results have been released over the last months, and have focused on issues unique to Namibia, including the impact and effectiveness of gender quotas, the genocide negotiations with Germany, and land issues. Other sections of the Afrobarometer survey focused on Namibians' view on the economy, service delivery, trust in various government institutions, as well as thoughts on corruption in the country. The national Afrobarometer also focused on the issue of Access to Information as well as Namibians' take on freedom of expression and association.
JANA-MARI SMITH
The Afrobarometer survey released this week by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), further shows the majority of Namibians are critical of government's handling of tackling unemployment and poverty, which they consider the country's most pressing problems.
Many also agreed that the defence budget should be cut and money rerouted to poverty eradication efforts, while social protection grants should be prioritised and taxes raised in favour of poverty reduction efforts. These results were captured in the latest round of the Afrobarometer national survey carried out last year, which represents a wide range of Namibian public opinion, as part of a regional research survey conducted in 37 African countries. The findings indicated that most Namibians “feel that government is handling key issues related to poverty 'fairly badly' or 'very badly'”.
In total, 75%, rated government's handling of key issues related to poverty and unemployment, including job creation, badly.
The results, on the topic of perceptions and experiences on poverty, unemployment and social protection, found that Namibians rate unemployment as the country's most pressing problem (66% of respondents) with poverty the second biggest problem (34%).
The IPPR highlighted that these views are widespread “despite the Harambee Prosperity Plan prioritising these issues amongst those that require attention, with the government already increased social grants”, including the old age grant and the establishment of the food bank in recent years.
The issue of land and the management of the economy ranked as the third and fourth most pressing problems faced by the nation according to those interviewed.
In terms of solutions, 66% of respondents said government should increase social protection grant spending, and 64% said that the defence budget should be cut in favour of poverty eradication and development, while 53% said raising taxes could re-direct spending on poverty reduction.
Of the 47% of rural and urban respondents who said they had gone without food at least once over the last year at the time of the survey, 50% lived in rural areas, and 44% in urban households.
Most of the respondents in the survey, 70%, said they had gone without a cash income at least once over the past year, of which 75% lived in rural households, and 66% in urban households.
Efforts to narrow the gaps between the poor and rich also got thumbs down; with 73% of the opinion not enough is being done to close the gap.
Nearly 60% of respondents rated the state's effectiveness in improving living standards as bad, and 50% said government is not doing enough to ensure that “everyone has enough to eat”.
The latest Afrobarometer results have been released over the last months, and have focused on issues unique to Namibia, including the impact and effectiveness of gender quotas, the genocide negotiations with Germany, and land issues. Other sections of the Afrobarometer survey focused on Namibians' view on the economy, service delivery, trust in various government institutions, as well as thoughts on corruption in the country. The national Afrobarometer also focused on the issue of Access to Information as well as Namibians' take on freedom of expression and association.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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