Inflation pushes up food prices: EAN
WINDHOEK, 17 FEB (NAMPA) – Consumers have been paying more for food and non-alcoholic beverages as prices continued the upward trend, owing largely to the high inflation rate in January compared to December 2018. This observation was made by the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) in its review of the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) […]
Fuel price decrease should not result in complacency
THE Economic Association of Namibia has cautioned consumers, oil producers and policymakers not to become complacent because oil prices are decreasing. Instead, they should continue embarking on more fuel-efficient transport, production equipment, and further move to electrical vehicles and equipment. The EAN’s analysis comes after the mines and energy ministry on Friday announced that fuel […]
How do rural people save and invest traditionally?
7 September 2018 From income and expenditure surveys we know quite a lot about what people earn and spend from day to day. The surveys also tell us about sources of incomes. By contrast, less information is collected on what people save or in what they invest. That seems odd. Why should we pay scant […]
Is food security more important than cash security?
A recent search in Google for the exact phrase ‘food security’ came back with a whopping 24,500,000 finds, while ‘income security’ produced a list of 1,820,000 ‘hits’. ‘Cash security’ trailed way behind with only about 284,000 items. Very different numbers. The content of the pages at the top of the search lists was also starkly […]
Should tenure systems still govern land uses, or vice versa?
The much-awaited 2nd land conference is 6 weeks away. Lots is being alleged, assumed and demanded during dozens of meetings and consultations, often accompanied by considerable hype. Despite all this talk and energy, the debate about land remains narrow, focusing largely on land as a political football. Those who score most goals will fill their […]
Why is Namibia changing rapidly from a rural to an urban society?
Namibia is changing rapidly, from a society centred very largely on rural livelihoods to one based on urban jobs and homes. The dimensions of the change are substantial, and the questions are many. What drives rural people to towns? Why is cash security becoming more important than food security? Why are small nuclear families replacing […]
Why do so many Namibians have to live in urban shacks?
Namibia had roughly 10,500 urban shacks in 1991. By the end of 2018, there will be about 150,000 of them, with approximately 15,000 shacks being added each year. At that rate of growth, there will be more urban shacks than all formal urban houses and all rural houses by 2025. That is just eight years […]
What is the purpose of property rights?
Two types of property rights govern the land on which most Namibian families live: customary land rights and freehold rights. Customary land rights confirm traditional and/or historical entitlements to occupy the land which occupants may use for residential and crop growing purposes. Commercial uses are not allowed, and the land rights may not be sold. […]
What is the purpose of livestock in Namibia?
It is established fact, indeed dogma, that Namibian livestock are used to produce meat, as well as some milk, skins, eggs, draught power and manure. The animals are farmed for production. They or their products are harvested regularly and sold to earn revenue. This is generally thought to be the true function of all livestock. […]
Capital or revenue: the use of land by wealthy, urban livestock owners
There has been a major change in the distribution and purpose of most Namibian cattle over the last 20 years. Previously, the majority of cattle were on so-called commercial freehold farms where they were used largely to produce beef. Nowadays, most Namibian cattle are in areas we call communal where they are used mainly as […]