BIG proposal rejected

THE Basic Income Grant (BIG) Coalition received some bad news on Monday when Prime Minister Nahas Angula, on behalf of Cabinet, rejected its proposal for a N$100 minimum State grant to all Namibians below pensioners’ age.

Angula said Cabinet decided that introducing such a grant would make no economical sense, especially when considering that various grants are already in place to try and alleviate the plight of various vulnerable groups. “Grants such as social pensions, war veterans’ grants, foster parents’ allowances, place-of-safety allowances, housing grants such as the single quarters upgrade, informal settlement upgrades, shack dwellers upgrades, among others, are all being implemented to the tune of N$1,2 billion annually,” Angula told the coalition.”Thus, introducing a basic income grant would not be economically prudent given our meagre resources,” the premier said.Angula said if the BIG was indeed believed to be a priority, Government would need to abolish its existing subsidies and grants to make money available.”In this regard, it would mean that consultations must be held with the recipients of the existing grants and subsidies as to convince them to give up what is now their livelihood in favour of a hundred-dollar monthly grant,” Angula said.He did, however, give the coalition and its partners the option of raising a fraction of the amount needed for the implementation of the BIG, saying that in such case, Government would be willing to employ the staff needed to help.Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, the head of the BIG delegation, Bishop Zephania Kameeta, said they did not see the response from Government as “very negative”.He said the decision did not mean the end of the BIG idea, and that the coalition would now get together to discuss what Cabinet had told them.He said Cabinet had not “closed the door” on them yet.The idea for a basic income grant started in 2002 when Government’s Namibian Tax Consortium (Namtax) said it found a universal income grant the best method of addressing poverty and inequality in the country.Namtax had been asked to review the country’s tax system, and the proposal for a BIG was part of its recommendations to achieve income redistribution.It said the money needed for the grant could be recovered through progressive tax adjustments for people who didn’t need the grant.Cabinet’s decision to reject the proposal came after a visit by the BIG coalition to President Hifikepunye Pohamba in January, and a prior visit to National Assembly Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab last year.”Grants such as social pensions, war veterans’ grants, foster parents’ allowances, place-of-safety allowances, housing grants such as the single quarters upgrade, informal settlement upgrades, shack dwellers upgrades, among others, are all being implemented to the tune of N$1,2 billion annually,” Angula told the coalition.”Thus, introducing a basic income grant would not be economically prudent given our meagre resources,” the premier said.Angula said if the BIG was indeed believed to be a priority, Government would need to abolish its existing subsidies and grants to make money available.”In this regard, it would mean that consultations must be held with the recipients of the existing grants and subsidies as to convince them to give up what is now their livelihood in favour of a hundred-dollar monthly grant,” Angula said.He did, however, give the coalition and its partners the option of raising a fraction of the amount needed for the implementation of the BIG, saying that in such case, Government would be willing to employ the staff needed to help.Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, the head of the BIG delegation, Bishop Zephania Kameeta, said they did not see the response from Government as “very negative”. He said the decision did not mean the end of the BIG idea, and that the coalition would now get together to discuss what Cabinet had told them.He said Cabinet had not “closed the door” on them yet.The idea for a basic income grant started in 2002 when Government’s Namibian Tax Consortium (Namtax) said it found a universal income grant the best method of addressing poverty and inequality in the country.Namtax had been asked to review the country’s tax system, and the proposal for a BIG was part of its recommendations to achieve income redistribution.It said the money needed for the grant could be recovered through progressive tax adjustments for people who didn’t need the grant.Cabinet’s decision to reject the proposal came after a visit by the BIG coalition to President Hifikepunye Pohamba in January, and a prior visit to National Assembly Speaker Theo-Ben Gurirab last year.