{"id":76095,"date":"2024-08-28T10:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant"},"modified":"2024-08-28T10:20:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T10:20:00","slug":"govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","title":{"rendered":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Namibia. <\/strong><\/span><b>Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare acting executive director Nichlas Mbingeneeko says the ministry is still consulting on the issue of a basic income grant (BIG).<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, the BIG Coalition of Namibia staged protests highlighting the urgent need for economic support and social justice in the face of widespread poverty and unemployment.<\/p>\n<p>The coalition organised nationwide marches to advocate the implementation of a universal BIG of N$500 per person per month for all Namibians under the age of 60.<\/p>\n<p>The march was deliberately held on Heroes Day, which is commemorated annually on 26 August.<\/p>\n<p>Mbingeneeko received the petition on behalf of minister Doreen Sioka at Zoo Park in Windhoek.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cThe ministry took up the matter immediately with the head of state after receiving your first petition in June. We are hard at work already on your request,\u201d he said.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will make further work of it and we will also make sure that we engage the leadership of the coalition to keep you abreast of the developments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While handing over the petition, social and economic justice activist Nafimane Hamukoshi said a BIG has the potential to provide immediate relief.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce implemented, the BIG will ensure every Namibian, regardless of their circumstances, has the means to access food, healthcare and education.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hamukoshi said the grant should not target specific groups or impose qualifying conditions forcing people to prove they are deserving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch means-tested grants are administratively costly and often fail to reach the intended beneficiaries,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, spokesperson for BIG in the Oshana region Julia Heita said they couldn\u2019t deliver the petition to the Oshana council chairperson as the offices were locked.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u201cIt is disappointing, but we will come back again and petition after the long weekend,\u201d she said.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Heita noted that the BIG will not merely be a financial handout, but a pathway to dignity and self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges, pushing more families into poverty and unemployment. Many have lost their jobs or livelihoods and this crisis highlighted the urgent need for a safety net.\u201d She said the action taken to support Namibians with a N$750 once-off emergency income grant at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis helped Namibians tremendously.<\/p>\n<p>Heita further urged the government to build on the emergency income grant to help better manage future crises by implementing a BIG which would act as a buffer, giving individuals the ability to weather financial storms and make investments in their health and future.<\/p>\n<p>In June, president Nangolo Mbumba asked Sioka to deal with the BIG issue.<\/p>\n<p>A BIG would cost the government around N$14 billion annually, which is about 3% of the country\u2019s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\">Namibia<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Namibia. Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare acting executive director Nichlas Mbingeneeko says the ministry is still consulting on the issue of a basic income grant (BIG). Yesterday, the BIG Coalition of Namibia staged protests highlighting the urgent need for economic support and social justice in the face of widespread [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":76094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-76095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Govt still consulting on basic income grant - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt still consulting on basic income grant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Namibia. Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare acting executive director Nichlas Mbingeneeko says the ministry is still consulting on the issue of a basic income grant (BIG). Yesterday, the BIG Coalition of Namibia staged protests highlighting the urgent need for economic support and social justice in the face of widespread [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Govt still consulting on basic income grant\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\",\"name\":\"Govt still consulting on basic income grant - Namibia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg\",\"width\":751,\"height\":451,\"caption\":\"Govt still consulting on basic income grant\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Govt still consulting on basic income grant\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/\",\"name\":\"Namibia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant - Namibia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant","og_description":"Africa-Press &#8211; Namibia. Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare acting executive director Nichlas Mbingeneeko says the ministry is still consulting on the issue of a basic income grant (BIG). Yesterday, the BIG Coalition of Namibia staged protests highlighting the urgent need for economic support and social justice in the face of widespread [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","og_site_name":"Namibia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant","datePublished":"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant"},"wordCount":463,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg","keywords":["africa press","Africa Press-Namibia","namibia"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant","name":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant - Namibia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg","datePublished":"2024-08-28T10:20:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2024\/08\/Hazrati1724827844.943169.jpg","width":751,"height":451,"caption":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/govt-still-consulting-on-basic-income-grant#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Govt still consulting on basic income grant"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/","name":"Namibia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}