Cash grant for 19 to 59-year-olds proposed

The standing committee on health, social welfare and labour affairs has urged the government to extend social grants to Namibians aged 19 to 59 who currently do not qualify for any form of state support unless they are living with a disability.

This recommendation comes after the committee’s investigative report into the basic income grant (BIG) pilot at Otjivero-Omitara, conducted between 5 August 2024 and 9 May 2025, showed that an unconditional monthly grant of N$100 improved livelihoods, boosted local economic activity, and restored dignity to many.

The committee’s vice chairperson, Emma Muteka, says before the introduction of te BIG, the main source of income at the settlement was old age pension and child grants.

However, she says, this all changed once residents started receiving the BIG.

“The settlement was characterised by unemployment, hunger and poverty.

Most residents settled there were former farm workers that were dismissed from employment or simply dumped there by their former employers and had nowhere else to go,” says Muteka.

According to her, residents reported a significant decline in household poverty, with more families able to afford groceries, cosmetics and clothing items.

As a result, some residents were observed starting backyard gardens to supplement the drought relief food that would take long to reach them.

The report highlights an increase in economic activity as some beneficiaries have used their combined income to start small businesses such as brick-making, selling ice, baking bread, dress-making and shoe repairs.

The rate of those engaged in income generating activities for profit, family gain and self-employment increased significantly, says the report, and children who could not attend school regularly were back in school as the parents could afford to buy school uniforms and pay school fees.

Muteka says the income grant also improved their housing infrastructure, with most residents having lived in plastic structures before the grant’s introduction.

However, after it was rolled out, numerous families pooled their earnings together and bought corrugated iron sheets and built themselves decent structures.

The committee recommends the government establish a one-stop agency to ensure effective and efficient administration, management and payment of social grants, and explore various revenue collection initiatives to supplement their budgetary allocation.

The committee says there is a need to synchronise all social grants to eliminate oversubscription.

Muteka says poverty is a multifaceted issue, and it is critical to understand the poverty status of vulnerable groups to ensure they receive the support and protection.

“We commend the government for the various social assistance programmes in place, however, we observed that there are no programmes in place that target the vulnerable people in the age group 19 to 59, unless the person is disabled,” she says.

The report follows a motion tabled in parliament in 2005 which proposed a monthly cash grant of not less than N$100 to every Namibian as a means of providing social protection for poor and vulnerable people.

After the report was approved and referred to the committee for investigation, a two-year pilot project commenced in 2022 at the Otjivero-Omitara settlement, about 100km east of Windhoek.

A total of about 1 000 people were registered as beneficiaries, irrespective of their social and economic status.

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