To a first time visitor, Namibia is a land of plenty for everybody because the country’s vibrant mining and fishing sector have led to its classification as a middle-income country.
All these gains are in spite of the relatively young economy of the south-west African nation, which attained independence only 21 years ago.
Despite such seemingly good economic and social standing, a large portion of the population is poor and faces chronic economic insecurity.
The huge socio-economic disparities are largely a reflection of colonialism and apartheid, but also of the class stratification that has taken place in post-independent Namibia.
The middle-income tag bestowed on Namibia places the country at shoulder level with some of the world’s fastest growing economies such as Brazil, China, Thailand, India and Indonesia.
However, Namibia is, by far, poorer than these other countries, hence the government’s insistence that Namibia needs re-grading.
A high per capita GDP, relative to the region, hides the fact that most Namibians live in severe poverty due to large-scale unemployment. Testimony to this is the high levels of income disparities in the world, due to the legacy of apartheid.
To date, only a tiny proportion of the population enjoys a measure of wealth, as overall poverty rates are high, especially in rural areas.
The rural poor are typically undereducated with limited access to health care, adequate sanitation and gas and electricity supplies.
Food shortages are a major problem during years of drought, and nutritional intake is consistently poor.
Namibia is unusual in the region in that rural people are less dependent on agriculture than their counterparts in other countries.
Sources such as pensions and remittances provide important additional income for many subsistence farmers.
The social and economic imbalances of the apartheid system, introduced into Namibia in 1964 under South African rule, left a deep divide in Namibian society.hese structural inequalities have made job creation and poverty reduction difficult. Redressing inequality of land distribution became a priority political issue for the government with the National Conference on Land Reform held in 1991.
But since then land distribution has proved expensive and slow.
Commercial farmland for redistribution is located mainly in arid and semi-arid areas, and is suitable only for large-scale ranching.
In recent years the land question has become more complex and more pressing. Within communal areas, problems of conflict have arisen between poor farmers and better-off farmers who have fenced off land and access to water points.
The fishing industry has grown to the extent that it currently is Namibia’s second biggest export earner of foreign currency after mining (90 per cent of national output is marketed for export).
It is also the third largest economic sector in terms of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was about 10.1 per cent or N$1.477 billion for 1998.
Globally, Namibia ranks among the top ten fishing countries in terms of the value of production. In terms of its 400 kg per capita annual production, Namibia ranks second in the world.
The industry employs about 14,000 workers, of whom about 43 per cent are sea-going personnel and 57 per cent are involved in onshore processing.
Despite all that, locals do not get to sample the fish. It is either too expensive or not readily available and seemingly destined for the foreign currency earner.
Locals are encouraged to seek fishing permits before catching even a single fish in the country’s waters.
It involves red tape and delays, making it not worth of pursuing.