BoN Governor has sleepless nights about lack of jobs

NAMIBIA should be having sleepless nights about the thousands of people stranded without a job as the economic meltdown intensifies, Bank of Namibia (BoN) Governor Tom Alweendo said yesterday.

Addressing the Namibian Economic Society (NES), Alweendo said the time has come to look at growing unemployment as a ‘national problem’. Self-interest has no place in this struggle, he stressed.Government, employers and trade unions must tackle it together, Alweendo stressed.’If it means having to assist companies, then Government can do that. If it means that employers and employees must agree to things they won’t normally agree, then so be it,’ the head of the Central Bank said.The global economic crisis, which is threatening to plunge Namibia into recession, is expected to claim at least 2 000 jobs locally. Given that Namibia is already burdened by an unemployment rate of at least 37 per cent, this is truly worrisome. ‘This crisis should not make us sleep,’ Alweendo said.He warned, however, that measures taken in turbulent economic times like these must be temporary. And people must realise that they are temporary.In this regard the BoN chief referred to increased spending in the 2009-2010 Budget, resulting in a deficit of 4,5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. ‘The huge deficit is good for now, but it will be hard to sustain in the long term,’ he warned.Governor Alweendo also urged Namibia to start ‘thinking post-crisis’ and to have a ‘clear exit strategy’ in place.’If we don’t, we may risk our hard-earned macro-economic stability,’ he cautioned.Will it be business as usual in Namibia once the economic crisis is over, he wondered. If so, Alweendo warned that Namibia will miss the goals of Vision 2030, which requires annual economic growth of between seven and eight per cent.’We’re not getting there (at the moment), no matter what we think. The figures are there to prove it,’ the Governor emphasised.He suggested that Namibia should focus on two or three sectors with quick growth potential, rather than trying to be good in all sectors. He also called for better monitoring of strategies and progress. ‘If after some time we see it doesn’t work, then discard it,’ Alweendo said. ‘If we follow the same strategy we have done so far, we won’t getting to Vision 2030,’ he said.