Lessons Learned and Expectations From Namibia's National Employment Policy: Case Study of Young Entrepreneurs in Windhoek

Lessons Learned and Expectations From Namibia's National Employment Policy: Case Study of Young Entrepreneurs in Windhoek

Daniel Ileni Itenge
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 16
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-7578-2.ch006
OnDemand:
(Individual Chapters)
Available
$37.50
Current Special Offers
No Current Special Offers
TOTAL SAVINGS: $37.50

Abstract

Namibia continues to face many economic and social hurdles such as high unemployment rate, poverty, and inequalities. The National Employment Policy (NEP) is one of the government's policy interventions to address these issues. Namibia is in the process of developing a third National Employment Policy, as the preceding two policies were deemed to have failed. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the NEP. The objectives of this study were to analyse failures of the preceding policies, examine the lessons learned that can be used for future policy success, explore the expectations of young and indigenous entrepreneurs in Windhoek, Namibia, and to recommend measures for successful future policy implementation. The study collected data through survey, face-to-face interviews, and analysis of literature. The study revealed that the preceding NEPs failed due to flaws in implementation. It is recommended that future policies should be aligned to NDPs, targets should be measurable, there is a need to establish a steering body, and there is a need for the adequate publication of the policy.
Chapter Preview
Top

Background

Namibia gained its independence from South African colonial rule in 1990, and has up to today enjoyed 32 years of independence. Since independence, most of the economic and social hurdles that Namibia and its people endured were blamed on the colonial system that deprived Namibia of many economic opportunities. 30 years independence seem to be a sufficient time period to address such hurdles and gaps in the economy and society. However, Namibia today continues to endure some of, if not all, the issues as at independence. Unemployment is still high at 33.4% (broad) (NLFS, 2018), more Namibians are still poor, and the gap between the rich and the poor is still wide, amongst others.

Namibia was moved to category Upper-Middle Income Country by the World Bank in 2009, due to significant growth in income per capita (Njirainimarie & Marie-Nelly, 2022). Also according to Namibia's 5th National Development plan (2017), the Namibian economy grew over the past years at an average annual rate of 4.5% attributed to significant expansion of the mining sector, however, significant levels of poverty (rural areas at 27% and urban areas at 9.6%), unemployment (33.4%) and inequalities (National Gini-coefficient Index at 0.572) still lingers.

Nambinga and Mubita (2021) also summarised that the employment situation in Namibia is a prolonged situation, and youth unemployment continues to be worrisome (43.4%, NLFS 2018) as numbers of youth that are not in education, employment, or training are still high (34.5%, NLFS 2018). The authors stressed that these statistics turns a stomach, as they translate into a stagnant and unproductive society.

Complete Chapter List

Search this Book:
Reset