Angula says 500 000 new jobs in three years is possible

Independent presidential candidate for the upcoming elections Ally Angula says it is possible to create 500 000 new jobs in the next three years.

Angula said this at the launch of her election manifesto in Windhoek on Tuesday.

Dubbing her campaign ‘The New Way’, Angula said the current government approach has failed Namibians for 34 years.

“We all know Namibia is a land of incredible wealth and resources and talented people, and thus our collective goal must be to create 500 000 new jobs in the next three years, and to create opportunities that generate monthly cash income for every Namibian household,” she said.

“The ‘New Way’ is our bold answer to years of struggle. By realigning the role of the government, we can unlock a new era of economic reform, creating jobs, fostering businesses and building a brighter future for all Namibians,” she said.

Angula’s campaign is primarily focused on job creation, poverty reduction and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship.

She said under her administration, a direct investment of N$55 billion would be made, which would provide all struggling families and unemployed Namibians with immediate financial relief.

“The New Way focuses on providing direct funding to indigenous entrepreneurs in industries that utilise our strengths . . .” she said.

Angula promised to create jobs through a vocational training centre (VTC) graduate programme, which would subsidise graduates to start businesses to help restore schools, clinics and police stations, among others.

“We have a 34-year renovation and maintenance deficit. All VTC graduates will be listed for renovation and maintenance work around the country so that we can bring all our clinics, police stations and schools up to standard.

“No tenders – graduation is the only qualification. No back door and no needing to know someone or to be connected. All VTC graduates would be listed and dispatched to tackle renovation and repair projects on their own,” Angula said.

‘IMPOSSIBLE’

Independent economic researcher Josef Sheehama says Angula’s goal to lower unemployment and raise living standards are admirable and important.

“However, it is not possible to create 500 000 jobs in three years. This indicates that 160 000 new jobs are generated annually.

Given the impracticality of this wish, her manifesto will not carry enough weight to surpass the performance of other contenders,” he says.

“Green hydrogen and oil discoveries alone won’t be enough to achieve this. It is not economically rational and is unrealistic,” Sheehama says.

He says the growth rate and sectors targeted for attention were not specified in Angula’s manifesto.

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu says Angula would be hamstrung by the country’s current fiscal situation.

He says the promise to equip technical and vocational education and training graduates with entrepreneurial ventures may encounter scalability challenges.

“One wonders why the current government failed to get this easy job creation going. Maybe talk is cheap,” Kakujaha-Matundu says.