In a three part series in Der Spiegel a new approach to aid is looked at in one Namibian village, that has been plagued by racial disparity and poverty.
working to shift from a historical bias against the black poor and the elite white farmers, Namibia is seen as a country that is easily on its way to an utter eruption of ciaos and complete failure if a solution is not found.
How a Basic Income Program Saved a Namibian Village
It sounds like a communist utopia, but a basic income program pioneered by German aid workers has helped alleviate poverty in a Namibian village. Crime is down and children can finally attend school. However the local white farmers are unhappy with the scheme, and some find it down right ridiculous, such as Siggi von Lüttwitz, who thinks that simply handing out money, will only encourage more drinking;
“They’re poor wretches,” he says, “and in some ways I feel sorry for them.” But giving them money? “An idiotic idea,” says Lüttwitz, insisting that it isn’t the right way to teach them to be hardworking.
This view point is shared by most other white farmers, and most believe that education is needed to ensure that the poor local population can get themselves out of poverty. However when your in poverty education often falls to the waist-side as the food and basic necessity become the priority.
In the article the question is posed, “Is Africa beyond help?”
Poverty is at the root of development issues, but the problem has not been discovering what is causing issues like high child mortality, disease, crime, child labor, low literacy rates, etc., but in how to eradicate poverty sustainably.
Those behind idea of Namibia’s basic income scheme say they have the answer and that its really is simple. Each citizen under the age of 60 will receive a basic monthly income of 100 Namibia dollars, or about $13. The basic income is regardless of any other criteria and would go to rich or poor alike, and will be funded by tax revenues. A pilot is already underway and the only catch is that the organizers want to know what each person plans to do with their income, will they buy more drink, go to school, buy more food, etc. regardless they will still get their allotted 100 dollars. According to Dirk and Claudia Haarmann, the schemes creators;
“The basic income scheme,” says Haarmann, “doesn’t work like charity, but like a constitutional right.” Under the plan, every citizen, rich or poor, would be entitled to it starting at birth. There would be no poverty test, no conditions and, therefore, no social bureaucracy. And no one would be told what he or she is permitted to do with the money.
In Part 2: A Village of Entrepreneurs, the pilot, which is underway in the village of Otjivero, is showing great results. Especially for mothers like Frieda Nembwaya, who has seven children, who can now see her children receive a basic education as well as have enough food to eat. Frieda soon found her self not only having enough to feed everyone with some to spare, but to also buy a chicken and then sell the offspring. In the final part of the article Frieda’s story takes a turn as she is soon able to begin selling a few loves of bread for additional income, which soon spires into an actual business and now she has been able to buy a stove and is looking for an assistant.
According to Part 3: ‘I’m Doing Very Well’, the pilot is a success according to the annual report published by Dirk Haarmann. ‘According to the report, economic activity in the village has grown by 10 percent, more people are paying tuition and doctors’ fees, health is improving and the crime rate is down. The report also stated that the basic income could be funded through the tax system by increasing the value-added tax or income tax by a few percent. Only 3 percent of the gross domestic product, or €115 million, would be enough to provide a basic income for all Namibians.’
So can this basic income scheme work, and if so will it work anywhere? According to the Haarmann’s, yes. In a sense the system has acted a bit like microfinance, however ones investments would continue regardless. While examples like that of Frieda Nembwaya, are fantastic success stories, and surely there are many others like her, there are also many who are not. While others may not squander their money on booze, they may not be a intuitive or resourceful as Frieda, and while the scheme may very well work, it seems that a sort of investment counseling may also be needed in the program to help others realize the potential of the basic income they are now receiving.
The reality is that aid needs to take on a hands up philosophy, over that of a hand out. Sure we need emergency relief, but just throwing food and medical aid at an impoverished area is simply applying a band-aid to a larger wound, and soon that wound it s going to open and the band-aid is not going to be big enough to cover it.
