A Study On Use Of The Income-Generating Activities Grant: Perceptions Of Beneficiaries In The Kavango Region Of Namibia

ABSTRACT

Before Namibia’s independence in 1990, wealth distribution was highly skewed and only 5% of the population enjoyed approximately 80% of the country’s wealth (Government of the Republic of Namibia, 2004). Widespread poverty, high unemployment rates and a lack of access to basic services such as land, credit and livestock severely affected the majority of the population. The goal of Namibia’s Vision 2030 is to promote people’s quality of life by, inter alia, establishing grant schemes for income-generating activities and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities.

The Kavango Region is the third highest funded region, yet it still has the highest incidence of poverty in Namibia. The overall aim of this study was to establish whether the income-generating grants from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare (MGECW) were sufficiently understood and whether they ameliorated poverty, improved food production and sustainability of livelihoods among the beneficiaries.

The researcher made use of qualitative techniques in data collection to obtain primary data. For this study, 32 respondents participated. Findings indicate that participants had varied and unclear views on income- generation grants and essentially engaged in subsistence rather than income-generating activities. Beneficiaries did not demonstrate a strong motivation for engaging in income-generating activities. The grant activities were insufficient to address unemployment

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adequately. Nevertheless, beneficiaries noticed some positive life improvements at individual and community levels; activities provided a viable potential for employment creation and increased food production.

Income-generating activities were constrained by the fact that the grant amounts were small, inadequate to support large-scale investment plans; neither could funds adequately meet the day-to-day project overheads, running costs, depreciation, equipment repair, replacement and maintenance.