Food Bank transitions to Conditional Basic Income Grant
By Adolf Kaure.
The government made a decision to transition the Food Bank Programme to a conditional basic income grant (CBIG), during this year’s third Cabinet decisions meeting which took place on Tuesday 14 March at Parliament.
A cash transfer of N$600 per household will be made monthly for the existing 8,339 food bank beneficiaries.
According to the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Hon Peya Mushelenga, Cabinet took note that the Ministry of Gender, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare has implemented the Integrated Social Assistance System (ISAS).
ISAS is a web application linked to the National Population Registry System which is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security. “This was done to facilitate the verification of the authenticity of national documents, life status and to help prevent duplication in benefits,” said Mushelenga.
As outlined by the social progression pillar of the Harambee Prosperity Plan II (HPPII), the Social Progression Pillar “takes a people-centred approach to development to ensure improved quality of life for all Namibians, especially the most vulnerable members of our society. Meaningful progress in arresting poverty, income and wealth inequalities has been made.”
Goal 1 of the Social Progression Pillar is to have zero deaths from hunger or poverty during the HPPII period (2021 to 2025). This includes securing household food security, consolidation of social grants and the Food Bank.
