Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda has flagged the “inadequate” funds allocated to early childhood development for the 2025/26 financial year.
This financial year, the education sector, which includes early childhood development, was allocated a total of N$24.8 billion. The entire Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture has been assigned N$76.1 billion over the three-year medium-term expenditure framework.
In the previous government administrations, childhood development fell under the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, but has been moved by the current administration.
Kaaronda, speaking in the National Assembly last week, told education minister Sanet Steenkamp he was disappointed to notice the percentage allocation earmarked for early childhood development. He did not mention the actual figure allocated, and this has not been revealed in public documents yet.
“I am hopeful that during the committee stage debate of your vote, this proposed percentage will be adjusted upwards. I am happy to note here that during one of the maiden speeches presented in this august house, one of the members also raised this very issue,” he said.
The Swanu leader proposed a rise in the allocation to early childhood development, rather than “continuing to pay salaries to faceless ghost teachers and non-existent civil servants”.
Furthermore, Kaaronda called for an urgent overhaul of Namibia’s public health delivery system.
The parliamentarian suggested that the public procurement regime will have to be done away with to introduce insourcing of key services and putting the Ministry of Health and Social Services in a position to directly engage service providers.
“In other words, the need for middlemen in the state procurement processes must be reduced,” he said.
Kaaronda recalled a time when Namibia’s primary healthcare was one of the best in the world and said the country should return to those days.
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