BIG coalition says Govt has money to fund income grant

By: Hendrina Kanyolo

Coordinator at the Basic Income Grant (BIG) Coalition of Namibia, Rinaani Musutua has stated that the government can use money returned to treasury and cut on certain expenses such as State funerals for politicians who have funeral covers to fund the BIG Project.

The BIG coalition is advocating for the government to provide Namibians between the age of 0-59 with a monthly grant of N$500.

Musutua made these remarks ahead of the Human rights day commemoration tomorrow. According to Musutua, Namibia still has a long way to go to respect human rights. She stated that poverty, which affects 1.6 million people in the country, is the biggest concern.

According to Musutua, human rights have no meaning as long as the poor in Namibia do not have their socio-economic conditions improved to reach minimally acceptable levels of human existence.

“How can they have money for all the things they want? That the ruling elite want. There is always money for whatever they want.Money keeps popping up from nowhere. We are talking about State funerals for rich people who can afford their own funerals. There are so many things we can do to cut down on wastage. One of the things could also be, the government agencies returning about N$400 million per year,” said Musutua.

She stated that this can be solved by providing a Basic Income Grant of N$ 500.

In addition, the BIG coalition of Namibia will commemorate the 75th human right's day anniversary at Megameno orphanage in Shandumbala in Katutura on Saturday.

Member of BIG coalition, Casper Bowora, said the orphanage that houses about 26 children depends on support from few individual well wishers and inconsistent corporate support. Bowora stated that the orphanage is in need of urgent assistance, as a result , they decided to commemorate the day in an effort to raise awareness and solicit assistance.

“The reason why we chose Megameno Orphanage is that the institution has been running for so many years and it is self-funded but they keep on pushing. We are also asking public members to come assist the orphanage,” stated Bowora.

Bowora further urged those who would like to give back to the orphans to contact them at 081 270 1994 or 081 561 5191.