Staff Reporter
THE challenges faced by Namibia’s informal sector are currently under examination in a two-day workshop attended by various stakeholders from academia, civil society, the private sector, and government officials, including the Labour Minister, Utoni Nujoma, and the Trade Minister, Lucia Iipumbu.
The Multi-Stakeholder Workshop is being held under the theme “Setting the Stage for a National Diagnostic of Informality in Namibia.” Nujoma revealed that the workshop’s objective is to bring together stakeholders from academia, government, civil society, and the private sector to collaboratively explore, analyze, and comprehend the complexities of Namibia’s informal economy, which contributes to inequality and hinders social justice.
“By doing so, we aim to lay the foundation for informed policies and practical strategies that can improve the lives and livelihoods of those engaged in the informal economy,” he said.
Nujoma also mentioned that workshop participants are expected to plan a diagnostic study of Namibia’s informal economy, aiming to understand its scope, diversity, causes, and consequences. This, he added, will facilitate consensus-building and enable stakeholders to discuss priorities and responsibilities for creating evidence-based strategies to reduce informality.
“We will examine the challenges and opportunities presented by informality, and we will seek innovative ways to promote decent work, social protection, and economic empowerment for all Namibians,” Nujoma said.
He underscored the workshop’s importance by highlighting that the informal economy plays a crucial role in the livelihoods of many Namibians, encompassing a diverse range of activities, from street vending to small-scale agriculture. It affects the lives of countless individuals and families, serving as a source of income, employment, and resilience while presenting challenges in terms of labour rights, social protection, and economic stability.
“It is a source of income, employment, and resilience for many, and at the same time, it presents challenges in terms of labour rights, social protection, and economic stability,” Nujoma said.
He further stressed that this workshop marks a significant step toward fostering decent work and inclusive economic growth across all sectors, formal and informal.
“As the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation, we recognize our pivotal role in ensuring effective labour and employment services, as well as social protection for workers in the informal economy. Our commitment to fostering decent work and inclusive economic growth extends to all sectors, formal and informal alike. We understand that informality is not a monolithic concept; it is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands a comprehensive approach,” Nujoma said.
The labour minister’s sentiments were further driven home by Iipumbu who said that the informal economy is a constant feature of many developing and low-income countries. She explained that while the informal economy is instrumental in ensuring sustainable livelihoods and fostering innovative and dynamic entrepreneurship, it also comes with negative externalities in its growth and development. Among the challenges faced by the informal economy, she pointed out the inability to provide decent work and wage disparities between the formal and informal sectors despite comparable skills.
“That is exactly the aim of this workshop as an effort to allow us all to collectively ventilate on these aspects tackling formalization philosophy, gender and vulnerable groups mainstreaming, business regulation and cost of compliance, social protection, `Market Access and Business Linkages, supporting the Decent Work agenda and policy support mechanisms and enhancement such as entrepreneurial training and infrastructure roll out for the sector such as Omatala,” Iipumbu added.
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