Jo-MarÉ Duddy
24 November 2011
GOVERNMENT has asked the World Bank to review Namibia’s unemployment data to verify whether 51,2 per cent of the country’s workforce is indeed jobless. The World Bank was called in as an independent body to end months of speculation that the official rate is too high.
Tom Alweendo, Director General of the National Planning Commission (NPC), yesterday said the bank has already started scrutinising the data of the Namibia Labour Force Survey (NLFS) of 2008.
“We are pushing them,” he said, adding that the World Bank’s verdict is expected latest year-end.
Government and economists alike have been divided on how reliable the unemployment rate is since it was officially released last September.
The latest economist to question the 51,2 per cent is First Capital’s Martin Mwinga. Mwinga recently released a report saying the figure was based on poor and unreliable data collection. According to him, Namibia’s unemployment rate should be 28,4 per cent.
Alweendo yesterday said Government asked for a World Bank review before the Mwinga report. Irrespective of the outcome, Government won’t change its strategy to fight unemployment, he said.
“28 per cent is just as high as 51 per cent,” Alweendo said.
Government has set aside N$14,6 billion to create 104 000 jobs until 2014 through its Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (Tipeeg).
“We would have had Tipeeg even if the unemployment rate was 36 per cent [as measured in 2004],” Alweendo said. How to handle a World Bank rate which differs from the official rate will be a dilemma, though, he said.
If it’s lower, people might say Government is trying to hide a high unemployment rate because it is embarrassed, Alweendo said.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Namibia: World Bank to Review Unemployment Rate