Niël Terblanché
The recent introduction to Namibia of the new and innovative Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) Model and the commitment to Employment Impact Assessment is a huge step towards enhancing employment opportunities, fostering economic growth, and ensuring a brighter future for the country’s workforce.
The Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Namibia Statistics Agency, has introduced the new SAM Model.
This innovative model aims to assess the employment impact of existing and upcoming projects in Namibia, including the Green Hydrogen project and others.
During the launch event, Lydia Indombo, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation, stressed the importance of the SAM Model.
She explained that the Employment Impact Assessment (EmpIA or EIA), as per the internationally agreed definition, is a comprehensive process to evaluate the employment potential and impacts of sectoral policies and investments.
“The assessment focuses on direct employment, indirect employment, induced employment, and capacity effect. It considers both quantitative effects, such as the number of employments created, and qualitative effects, including the types and quality of jobs generated,” she said.
According to Indombo, the primary objective of the Employment Impact Assessment is to assist in designing targeted interventions that promote the creation of more and better job opportunities for all, with a specific focus on women and youth.
This assessment provides valuable insights to formulate policy options aimed at enhancing the employment outcomes of various investments.
“Such policy options may include identifying the specific skills required for project implementation and implementing measures to make these skills readily available,” she said.
Indombo stated that the Second Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPPII) places a strong emphasis on the government’s utilization of employment impact assessment to foster the creation of more and higher-quality jobs.
HPPII also focuses on the inclusion of targets related to the Employment Impact Assessment (EIA) in government policies, strategic plans, programs, and ministerial budgets to evaluate employment potential and sectoral policy impacts.
Indombo, however, said that a lack of capacity and technical expertise on how to conduct an Employment Impact Assessment has been a challenge.
“To address this, the Ministry has secured technical expertise from the International Labour Organization (ILO). This initiative aims to empower key stakeholders with the knowledge and skills required for the effective implementation of Employment Impact Assessment, enabling informed decision-making and the promotion of sustainable and quality employment opportunities in Namibia,” she said.
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