The Basic Income Grant (BIG) Coalition of Namibia is calling on the government to secure funding and set a date for registration to resume.
The call follows an announcement by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare last week that registration has been paused because funds have depleted and that registration will only resume once funds are available.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the coalition calls for immediate allocation of additional resources to ensure that eligible vulnerable Namibians who have been unable to register can access financial assistance.
The BIG currently provides N$600 per month to eligible vulnerable households. A total of 27 132 beneficiaries nationwide are receiving the grant.
“The coalition does not accept that Namibia, a country endowed with enormous natural resources, should continue telling its poorest citizens that there is simply no money for them.
“The question is not only how much money the government has. The question is what the government chooses to spend it on and whose lives are treated as a priority,” the statement reads.
The coalition wants the government to announce when registrations will reopen and communicate the date through regional and constituency offices to ensure that eligible applicants are informed and given an opportunity to apply.
It also wants the government to remove administrative barriers that prevent vulnerable people, especially those living in informal settlements and rural areas, from accessing the grant.
It says requirements for formal addresses, municipal bills and plot numbers could exclude people who need assistance but lack the necessary documentation. However, the gender ministry says requirements are necessary to verify residence, household status and eligibility and to prevent abuse of the programme.
It proposes alternative verification methods, including community and traditional-authority verification, sworn statements and mobile registration teams.
“Publish the exact funding shortfall, the current number of beneficiaries and estimated number of eligible people currently excluded to see the gap,” it says.
It says social protection should be prioritised in the national budget. It also wants the grant to be increased and progressively expanded, with the long-term goal of establishing a universal, unconditional basic income grant for all Namibians.
Approximately 408 000 people in Namibia face acute food insecurity, while more than 1.5 million struggle to secure consistent, safe and healthy meals. The grant was introduced in 2022 to replace the Food Bank Programme.
It says Namibia’s natural-resource wealth should be used to improve the living conditions of its citizens and ensure that vulnerable households are not left without support.
