President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has reiterated her plan to pump N$85 billion into creating 550 000 jobs across sectors in Namibia such as agriculture, construction and oil and gas.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said this during her first press conference as incoming head of state in Windhoek yesterday.
Namibia’s unemployment rate has been described as dire by economists, with the youth unemployment rate estimated to be over 50%.
The president-elect repeated the promise of 550 000 jobs last week.
“We are saying in the next five years, we are going to put aside N$85.7 billion specifically to create jobs.
And we are saying the jobs we are going to create will be over 550 000,” she said after casting her vote last Wednesday.
Namibia Fact Check has disputed Nandi-Ndaitwah’s claim that this promise is included in Swapo’s manifesto.
The manifesto states that the next government would spend N$85.7 billion to create exactly 256 538 jobs across various sectors of the economy.
AGRICULTURE
During yesterday’s press conference, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the agriculture, construction and oil and gas sectors would be prioritised.
“I can tell you, we stand a good chance that before the end of 2025, there must be a watermelon processing plant at Rundu, and how many people who are going to be employed by it. This is just an example,” she said.
The government’s investment in agriculture in Namibia is currently not aligned with the country’s national priorities.
The government’s allocation to agriculture in the 2024/25 financial year is 2.3% of non-interest expenditure and 0.7% of the gross domestic product. The president-elect further said value addition of both hard and soft natural resources is also a priority area for job creation.
“And we have already started with marble where they already started up to produce tiles and they export them to other parts of the world. We need more of those,” she said.
The third area Nandi-Ndaitwah mentioned was construction, which she said comes with additional needs.
“And one can say in construction it’s temporary jobs. If you construct more classrooms, it means more teachers have to be employed,” she said.
She welcomed foreign direct investment, but said investors “have to do their business in accordance with Namibia’s terms”.
On a question about Namibians complaining of the behaviour of Chinese businesses in Namibia, she said, Namibians have been complaining about the behaviour of the Chinese in Namibia.
“And I have initiated a meeting with the Chinese foreign minister and said, ‘colleague, your people, the way they are behaving’. They say China is also now open to foreign investment,” she said.
The president-elect told the Namibian youth to prepare for opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
“Just find out what could be the possible skill requirements in the oil and gas industry, and then start preparing yourself to have those skills,” she said.
She said the government has created a community metro fund.
“There are quite a number of Namibian young people who are sent for further training in preparation to serve in that sector.
“The green high energy, there was also an advertisement, and I believe Namibia’s young people have applied, and maybe soon you will be coming back and then serve in those sectors,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
‘ATTAINABLE’
Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu says the president-elect’s dreams are attainable.
“To achieve what she promises, two things need to work in tandem: strong political will and bold and brave leadership,” he says.
He advises Nandi-Ndaitwah to first familiarise herself with the government coffers to determine how much funds are available to achieve her goals.
“Capital projects such as building schools and revamping green schemes attract operational costs. How much is she prepared to borrow? How much foreign direct investment does she want to invite into the agricultural and other sectors? At what cost to the nation?” Kakujaha-Matundu asks.
On the creation of construction jobs, he asks whether she would be brave enough to wrestle the sector from the Chinese.
“Procurement: How is she going to rectify past mistakes that saw our hospitals with an inadequate supply of drugs, or the purchase of ineffective medicines?” he asks.
Kakujaha-Matundu says Nandi-Ndaitwah should be bold enough to tackle non-performance at green schemes.
“She does not need to reinvent the wheel. Good policies and plans are on the shelves. The question is why were they not implemented,” he says.
BLOATED PUBLIC SERVICE
Nandi-Ndaitwah says the government cannot contribute to unemployment by shrinking the public service.
It can only reduce the public service when Namibia’s economy is able to creating employment for these workers elsewhere, she says.
Last year, the government’s total expenditure on public servants stood at about N$30 billion, with 107 000 employed.
“But in a country where we have unemployment, and where the economy faces such challenges, all our efforts have become difficult to implement,” the president-elect said.
She said the government would scale down when some economic activities perform better.
“The idea is for them to become entrepreneurs. And then in the process, they create jobs for others,” she said.
Labour expert Herbert Jauch yesterday agreed with Nandi-Ndaitwah’s hesitation to cut the bloated public service.
He said instead she should rather focus on improving the quality of services provided.
He said it’s not good enough to just mention amounts to be spent, because the structure of the economy and how to move away from extractivism like mining should be considered.
“We need to move to a scenario of local processing, including some of the processing of natural resources. Now, that is not a matter of throwing money at it,” Jauch says.
Economic and social justice activist Nafimane Hamukoshi on Wednesday advised Nandi-Ndaitwah to address unemployment, especially among young people, which is a ticking time bomb threatening economic stability.
“Our education system is outdated, failing to prepare our youth for the jobs of tomorrow,” she said.
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