The Economic Association of Namibia (EAN), in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, convened a policy dialogue on how Namibia can transition from jobless growth to job-rich growth. The dialogue brought together senior government officials, representatives of business and workers organizations, economists and university students to examine how Namibia can transition from the current jobless growth. Through the Global Accelerator for Jobs, Social Protection and Just Transitions, the ILO contributed to the discussions by providing technical and policy advice drawn from its regional and global experiences on integrated approaches to employment promotion.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Michael Humavindu, the Executive Director in the Ministry of Finance, outlined Namibia's bold plans to realign its growth trajectory toward employment creation. He emphasized that while economic growth has been steady, it has not been inclusive enough to absorb the growing labour force.
"Our goal is to shift from growth without jobs to growth that creates decent work and lasting prosperity for Namibians", highlighted Dr Humavindu.
He spoke of ongoing efforts by the government to strengthen value addition, industrial productivity, and investment in emerging sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, and tourism to spur job-rich growth.
Our goal is to shift from growth without jobs to growth that creates decent work and lasting prosperity for Namibians.
Dr Humavindu Executive Director in the Ministry of Finance of Namibia.
Despite shocks and fluctuations over the last three decades, Namibia's economy has grown at an average rate of around 3 to 5 per cent annually, driven largely by mining and services. However, the jobs crisis has persisted even with the expanding economy. The labour market remains characterised by low productivity and informality, while most new jobs are concentrated in sectors offering low wages and limited security.
Jealous Chirove, ILO Employment Specialist for Eastern and Southern Africa, commended the Economics Association of Namibia for convening a timely and forward-looking dialogue and touched upon some of the reasons why Namibia has struggled to create adequate jobs. Informed by the evaluation of the second National Employment Policy, the ILO presentation pointed to the capital-intensive nature of Namibia's key industries, such as mining, oil, and gas, which contribute significantly to GDP but employ relatively few people. Weak linkages between these industries and local supply chains, combined with limited support for small and medium enterprises, have curtailed broad-based employment benefits. Moreover, the limited use of pro-employment budgeting and the inadequate coordination mechanisms prevented employment policy objectives from being fully integrated across government planning and budgeting cycles.
Chirove noted that:
Namibia's challenge may not necessarily be the absence of strong policy frameworks, but the lack of implementation and coordination with strong accountability mechanisms.
He called for the institutionalization of Employment Impact Assessments (EMPIA) to measure job creation potential across sectors to ensure that future growth policies are deliberately pro-employment.
The dialogue contributed to the ongoing policy support under the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, through which the United Nations supports Namibia's ambition to build a more inclusive, job-rich economy that delivers decent work and shared prosperity for all, where support is being delivered through a collaboration of the ILO with FAO and UNDP.
