Namibia to introduce more refined basic income grant

Namibian President Hage Geingob said his government will introduce a more refined basic income grant for Namibians as a way of dealing with poverty challenges.
   Geingob told parliament that the basic income grant will replace the food bank and aim to sustain Namibians under a challenging economic situation.
   "The delivery of residential erven has been prioritized but the national housing backlog remains above 300,000. I am cognisant that despite these milestones we need to continue prioritizing housing development. Although the bucket toilet system has not completely been dealt with, we have severely reduced it by 70 percent," he said.
   He said the country will continue to provide more funding to social safety nets as well as catering for the marginalized.
   Geingob said Namibia, South Africa and Botswana are among of the very few countries in Africa that have managed to sustain the provision of old-age grants as well as providing a social safety net.
   "Namibia has spent more than 9 billion Namibian dollars (about 533 million U.S. dollars) in the past financial year addressing challenges faced by society and dealing with the challenges of poverty and inequality," Geingob said. (Xinhua)