Unemployment: A Violent Epidemic in Namibia

• NDIILOKELWA NTHENGWESTATISTICS PLAYS A vital role in the many ways we contextualise, analyse and process information.

Often it conveys to us a reality we may not be ready to confront or even deal with. In some cases, statistics may well land in the hands of people who already live the daily reality; in other cases, they may inform stakeholders on how to conceptualise and reimagine more bold and daring realities for a community of people. 

While there are variables when it comes to how we all internalise information, there’s no doubt that the process itself may be to our own detriment when we learn that we represent a statistic which has not improved, and renders the majority perpetually despondent about their future.

A brief background statement in the third National Youth Policy states: “Namibia has a dual economy, with a rapidly growing informal sector, with 66,5% of the total employed population in informal employment (67,5% women; 65,6% men).

In addition,  57,3% of the urban population are employed in the informal sector, while 81,1% of those employed in the informal sector are from the rural population.” 

In an article in the New Era newspaper, the reality of unemployment is further contextualised by UNFPA’s country representative: “Namibia, with one of the youngest populations in Africa, could reach a staggering 50,30% youth unemployment rate by the end of 2021. Failure to provide education, create decent opportunities and access to health services for a youth-dominated population poses a potential threat to the economic and social stability of the country.”

INEQUALITIES

With this in mind, it is worth deconstructing anecdotally what these staggering figures mean and how they relate to the average unemployed young person. More than half our population relies on the informal sector to eke out a living, compounded by nearly half of our youth population being unemployed.

This makes it almost impossible not to believe that unemployment in Namibia, moreso youth unemployment, is a violent epidemic. It has slowly and insidiously eroded any sense of dignity and hope the Namibian youth have for a more productive and reassuring future. 

In light of this, it would be remiss not to highlight the race and class inequalities which determine access to equitable employment opportunities. Namibia’s social and political history has for years been characterised by colonial exclusion, and remains so even within the employment sector. This should be evident in the different realities and results of the majority black unemployed youth compared to their minority white counterparts.

It is not only that the youth may not find jobs or be employed early enough to immerse themselves in sectors that develop their skills further, it is also in the many ways their appetite for a more inclusive, enhanced and better future may deteriorate. 

A closer glance at the data confirms this. A Namibian youth may transition through demographic categories without being gainfully or equitably employed. “On average, young Namibians remain economically dependent until age 27. Many young Namibians who should be productive adults, are dependent well into their thirties because of the lack of work opportunities,” the third National Youth Policy states.

‘STOLEN FUTURES’

Many Namibian youths have consequently but violently been left out of the economic promise of a more prosperous future because of structural and institutional inequalities which persist more than 30 years after independence from colonialism and apartheid. More so because of a failure in governance (post the apartheid administration) to ensure that the future of Namibian youths across generations is secured and constitutionally protected. 

One could even call the highlighted statistics on unemployment a crime, robbing the youth of a future and reality to meaningfully participate and develop our economy.

Trading or employment within the informal sector – which makes up more than half our population, the majority of whom are women – does not guarantee security, nor does it produce any elements of sustainability within its existing model. This is characterised by the following according to the Namibia Informal Economy Case Study Report 2016/17:

• Most of the own-account workers are young adult females who have completed junior secondary education;

• Those who have not received any training in running a business were 70%;

• Close to 60% of the businesses were operating at home;

• Further findings indicated that access to credit and microfinance is limited in the informal sector;

• Employment created in the informal economy sector is reported to be largely exploitative and insecure;

MORAL MIRROR

The prevalence and size of the informal sector would and should also be another indicator of the symptom of structural inequities and how unemployment produces a sector which ultimately does not guarantee a dignified working life.

Simply put, the informal sector is a moral mirror which reflects the failure in governance and leadership to protect the social and economic livelihoods of the majority of our population.

Statistics may contextualise a reality on which informed decisions and policies might be adopted. However, it seems, in Namibia’s case statistics on unemployment remains perpetually rooted in defining and characterising how the future of the Namibian youth has, for years, been denied and inadvertently locked in by unemployment. What a violent truth to live with!

* Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe is an intersectional gender justice activist and author; Twitter: Ndiilo_Nthengwe; Facebook: Ndiilokelwa Nthengwe

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