What And Who Is To Blame For Lack Of Jobs In Namibia?

By Josephat lnambao Sinvula 

So before we blame Slavery,Apartheid,Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism,let us look at what we have achieved the last 35 years since independence.The outcry has been the same and consistent the last 35 years.What and Who is to blame for lack of jobs in Namibia?

Namibia is regarded as a lower middle income economy with a per capita gross domestic product that is significantly above average for countries in Sub Saharan Africa.But that summary is misleading.Only one quarter of all Namibians and only one sixth of Black Namibians have adequate incomes,up to two thirds live in abject poverty with limited access to public services.Economic growth remains problematic because of a shrinking productive sector,lack of capital stock and severe world market problems for base metals and uranium oxide.

Furthermore,the prudent fiscal policy instituted by the government after independence means that unless foreign assistance  commitments rapidly turn into large actual inflows and private external investment in mining,manufacturing and fishing emerges,the one segment of the GDP that grew rapidly in the 1980s will decline.Superimposed on these factors are near stagnant wage employment and the collapse of the local economy that arose owing to the presence of Apartheid  South African troops and later UNTAG units in the Northern towns.

The domestic economy recorded a slow growth but managed to record some notable achievements due to a decline in income inequality but eventually contracted on the back of weak performance  in construction,wholesale and retail sectors.

Namibia realized improvement in respect of investment attractiveness according to the Fraser lnstitute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies.ln this context,Namibia was ranked second in Africa after Botswana during the mid 2000s attributable to policy factors.

On the social front,and given the slow growth,unemployment increased while GDP per capita declined. In 2016,Namibia was ranked by UNDP as the second most unequal country in the world after South Africa. Although in terms of income levels,the average monthly wage has increased since early 2000s,females are generally lowly paid as compared to their male counterparts in the same industry.

Unemployment remains one of the country’s challenges and is highest in Kunene and Zambezi Regions.

So let us have an honest conversation.The question we need to ask is,why can’t the economy provide jobs?The conventional narrative is that we blame the lack of jobs on leadership failure,corruption, waste of public resources and economic mismanagement. 

The crux of the matter,however,is that the critical shortage of jobs has something to do with the fundamental structure of our economy and the state of our Education. 

Our Education system was designed to give language and numerical skills and provide certain types of workers for the jobs that existed in the various sectors of the economy. Despite the fundamental changes that have occurred to the economy,the education system has stagnated and has not responded or adapter to the new structure of our economy.

Namibia has significantly managed to increase access to education by 98.6 per cent enrolment rate but the quality of education remains a challenge with high dropout, repetition and survival rates in primary, junior and secondary education. The education sector also experienced high rates of repetition in almost all grades with the potential of discouraging learners and could lead to dropping out of school.

No wonder our Education system churns out graduates equipped with skills and training for jobs that no longer exist in the economy.Just check the last graduation ceremony you attended and check what training the graduates obtained and relate to the job market!

Our economy is now informal.lnfact the number of workers in the formal sector has barely changed in the last 35 years when our population was 1.3 million and now stands at just over 3 million people.

Yet our graduates from universities,colleges and other tertiary institutions are so well trained that they can work anywhere else in the world except Namibia.This is because the training and skills acquired cannot be matched with the jobs or lack of jobs available on the market.

No pun intended but little attention has been paid to innovation,entrepreneurship and a robust technical and vocational education sub sectors that could create employers who can employ themselves and others.

Additionally,sectors such as agriculture that have the potential to create millions of seasonal jobs have proven unattractive to young people who are the most affected by the current unemployment status.This is because they are waiting for the quality jobs that they have been trained in and skilled for.

With regard to the structure of our economy,the introduction of the free market and liberalization economic model at the behest of the country’s economic founding fathers only helped to de-industrialize the economy,shut manufacturing and industrial sector in preference for cheap imports that has helped grow the trading sector.

My paradigm shift is that lately the government has placed the most valuable natural resources,the mines in the hands of foreign entities and foreign benefits for exploitation.

Without  deriving higher rent from natural resources,which is the proven best source of domestic revenue for a country the scenario creates a cycle of poverty and the resources benefit and makes millions of dollars for the few new owners.

But it is time to face the monster!

Let us decolonize our Education system.

The current education system creates and promotes people for white collar jobs that no longer exist in the market and is not commensurate to the huge numbers of graduates churned out annually.

This makes our people speak good English but without jobs.

We need to change this education system that downgrades the importance of blue collar real and other jobs that exist or can be created in the market.

We need to foster a system that promotes innovation, entrepreneurship transformative technical and vocational education.

Let us also take back our natural resources in a model that delivers the most benefits to our people and chart the destiny of our country.

Other than the programme to do an aggressive re-industrialization programme,let us make our SMEs as the centre and focus of government policy provide fund support and nurturing as this is the biggest sector that will drive our economy and be a reliable future Employer.

Josephat lnambao Sinvula is a holder of a Diploma in Community Development from Kitwe Urban Development College Zambia, BSc,MPA from Virginia Commonwealth University & Atlanta University respectively from USA and is a PhD Candidate in Political Science from Atlanta University  USA.He is currently the Managing Director of J l S Management Consultancy CC based at Ongwediva, Oshana Region.