Over 12 000 jobseekers registeredon employment information system

The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation says a total number of 12 129 job seekers were registered on the Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (NIEIS) in the 2023/24 financial year.

However, out of this number, only 1 350 job seekers were placed in various industries.

This is according to labour minister Utoni Nujoma during his ministry’s budget motivation in parliament last week.

The labour ministry wants parliament to approve a total budget of N$222,3 million, with N$216,3 million earmarked for the operational budget and N$6 million planned for the development budget.

“A total of 2 725 vacancies were reported to the Employment Services Bureau online and through manual notification on Form ESA 3a. A total of 324 designated employers were registered on NIEIS, of which 105 employers, represented by 214 participants, were trained on the Employment Services Act and on the usage of NIEIS,” Nujoma said.

He added that 2 143 workplace inspections were conducted, of which 1 544 labour inspections were to verify compliance with basic conditions of employment and 589 inspections were to verify compliance with occupational health and safety standards, as well as the safety of dangerous machines.

“The ministry’s labour inspectors attended to and resolved 4 089 labour complaints received and an amount of N$1,8 million has been recovered from employers on behalf of complainants,” he added.

Nujoma said 5 612 labour cases were handled, of which 2 818 disputes were successfully resolved through conciliation and arbitration processes, while 2 794 are in the process of being finalised.

“A total of 4 036 employees from 270 companies lost their jobs during the financial year under review, due to the collective termination of contracts of employment countrywide.”

According to Nujoma, the ministry paid N$3,3 million from April 2023 to January 2024 as compensation for 308 beneficiaries on its payroll.

“An amount of N$1,1 million was spent on medical expenses for staff members who got injured at work and died while on duty during the period under review. The ministry paid the medical expenses and reimbursement of medical expenses claims of these staff members on behalf of the government,” he said.

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING

Nujoma said he noted that some opposition politicians and social activists have found it politically opportune to blame his ministry for not creating jobs.

“This reflects a basic lack of understanding of what is required to create employment and a misunderstanding of the ministry’s mandate. Unfortunately, many policy makers and economists worldwide, including in Namibia, believed, and some still believe, that employment is automatically created when a country’s economy grows, however, this is not true.”

Nujoma said the key mandate of his ministry is to coordinate and promote employment creation and not to create jobs directly.

“Jobs are created by employers in the private and public sectors and state-owned enterprises and through self-employment,” he said.

Over the past several years, the ministry has worked methodically to lay the necessary foundation to support the ongoing creation of sustainable employment in Namibia, Nujoma added.