NGOs want to see BIG in budget

CIVIL society hopes to see the basic needs of Namibians addressed in the National Budget, with a ‘conscious commitment’ towards addressing inequalities between the rich and the poor by introducing a Basic Income Grant (BIG).

Anna Beukes, Executive Director at the Namibia NGO Forum (Nangof), yesterday told The Namibian that Government could neither expect to meet its developmental goals nor have the full participation of the public in meeting these objectives without first addressing the basic needs of its people.These, she said, could be addressed through the implementation of the BIG.The Basic Income Grant is a cash grant (in this case N$100 a month) given to every Namibian citizen, excluding pensioners, which would be covered by adjustments in the tax system.’The budget has other important roles, but it needs to strike a balance between economic growth and social development, particularly in terms of addressing the skewed income distribution,’ said Beukes.’That’s why civil society hopes for the BIG, and believes that the budget should find ways to cater at least for the basic needs of people.’Beukes added that in a small country such as Namibia, ‘the budget can play an instrumental and critical role in addressing the inherited unequal wealth distribution’.’Up to now, allowances in the budget have not included the BIG, and we, as civil society, want Government to consider this. The basis for development is based on people being fed well, having clean drinking water and a place to stay.’A recent Afrobarometer briefing which measured public opinion on economic performance in Namibia also found that ‘poverty and unemployment remain the most important problems’ in the development of Namibia’s democracy and economic success. In a just published commentary on mitigating the impacts of the global recession in Namibia, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) too called for the easing of pressure on the country’s poorest.’While the introduction of a Basic Income Grant may place too great a strain on public finances, especially at this time, it is vital that existing and planned welfare initiatives have an optimum impact on assisting the poor and vulnerable,’ says the report.Beukes also said that the public should be more involved in budget preparation in the future.’We believe that people have the answers to their own development.’The budget can’t solve all the problems but we believe that greater input from civil society, as the voice of the poor, will better inform the budget process.’She said Nangolf plans to come up with a budget analysis providing constructive input from a civil society perspective during the course of the year.