STUDENT NAME: ELISIA-MARTHA SHINEDHIMA
STUDENT #: 215083903
COURSE: PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
DUE DATE: 23RD OCTOBER, 2020.
QUESTION: In relation to Namibia, analyse how the Sustainable Development
Goals (#8) targets are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally,
establish measures that can be put in place to ensure that the country is still
on track towards reaching these targets.
1
Our world today is dealing with a crisis of monumental proportions. The novel coronavirus is wreaking
havoc across the globe, upending lives and livelihoods. The cost of the pandemic in terms of loss of
human lives is painful, but the effects on the global economy and on sustainable development prospects
are also worrying. The pandemic has exposed fundamental weaknesses in our global system. It has
shown how the prevalence of poverty, weak health systems, lack of education, and a lack of global
cooperation exacerbate the crisis. This essay will In relation to Namibia, analyse how the selected
sustainable developments goals targets are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, establish
measures that can be put in place to ensure that the country is still on track towards reaching these
targets.
COVID-19 has created an environment of emergency. Every individual of the countries it touched, it has
brought a distressing social, economic and political crisis that will leave deep scars. Namibia too is
fighting this emergency due to which Namibia's zeal towards attaining the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) seems to have taken a backseat in this time of crisis (UNECA, 2020). A number of questions
are lying in the minds of every citizen of a nation. A significant question to ask ourselves is that is how to
prioritize our long-term goals in this humanitarian crisis? Should we be more concerned towards the
threat of climate change instead? How do we ensure resource efficiency while ensuring health of
nation? Though in the current situation these questions do not seem to be of utmost concern but they
are equally important. The response to the pandemic cannot be de-linked from the SDGs. Indeed,
achieving the SDGs will put us on a firm path to dealing with global health risks and emerging infectious
diseases (UNCTAD, 2020).
The negative impact of COVID-19 has also substantially weakened the Namibian economic prospects
and the Bank of Namibia (BoN) expects the real GDP to contract by 6.9% in 2020 before recovering to a
growth of 1.8% in 2021. It is estimated that Namibia could lose between N$5.1 billion and N$7.5 billion
in GDP due to COVID-19outbreak. An estimated loss in private demand of N$6 billion to N$12billion
emanating from the lost business hours for non-essential retail shops, reduced demand due to loss of
income and disrupted supply chains (Namibia Statistics Agency, 2020).
According to the UN Namibia Economist and Development Coordination Officer (EDCO), the implications
for Namibia are significantly tied to the main channels through which Namibia’s economy is exposed to
the COVID-19. There are three main channels through which countries are exposed to COVID-19 are:
Commodities, Tourism and Trade (World Bank, 2020b). With the shrinking global economy, the demand
for primary commodities like minerals in Namibia, is expected to decline. Countries in the sub region
2
that trade significantly with the European Union (EU) and China, have been severely impacted by COVID-
19,and there is also a lower demand in the EU and China, which causes lower demand for trade from
Namibia. With 90 percent of the world’s economy being locked down, there is a stagnation and negative
numbers in the tourism receipts of countries that rely on tourism as a major source of revenue and
foreign exchange earnings. The UN Namibia EDCO argues that besides the shrinkage in the world
economy there is also the expectation of a decline and a contraction in world trade by 15% in 2020
(World Bank, 2020a).
Namibia continues to record laudable milestones in terms of progress made on the implementation of
several SDGs. However, there are also challenges impeding progress regarding the implementation and
achievement of these goals. The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will add to these challenges
and significantly slow down the rate of achievement of the SDGs globally and in Namibia. The following
are some of the identified challenges that the implementing of SDGs is affected by the COVID-19. With
the global and local economies shrinking, people losing jobs and incomes declining, most of the citizens
globally including Namibia are robbed of the ability to maintain normal living standard and a sustained
quality of life as envisage by SDGs and Namibia’s Vision 2030. The preliminary assessments of the impact
of COVID-19 in Namibia indicates that there will be an increase in unemployment resulting from
retrenchments and closure of businesses (UNECA, 2020).
The latest International Labour Organization (ILO) COVID-19 and the World of Work report forecasts
that the equivalent of 22 million full-time jobs will be lost in Africa in the second quarter of 2020 alone.
In addition, 19.4% of workers in Namibia are working in at-risk sectors, and only 7.8% of the population
is covered with some form of social protection. These statistics don’t only include youth, but as 17-34
year-olds make up close to half of the country’s working age population (ILO, 2020) and also account for
a vast majority of vulnerable agricultural and informal workers, young people will be the first to feel the
effects of this recession caused by Covid-19 and likely the last to recover (Behravesh and Rocha, 2020).
Further complicating this picture, the nature of this recession is quite different from the 2008 financial
crisis, which has implications for aggregate supply and demand and so our responses also need to be
different. From the demand-side perspective, the virus will reduce private consumption, and neither
Namibian SMEs nor their countries have the market infrastructure such as internet connectivity or
e-commerce markets to help mitigate this shock (ILO, 2020) From the supply-side, the virus will affect
Namibian youth in terms of employment and access to work, and virus mitigation measures will cause a
slowdown of economic activity. In fact, the sectors that are most at risk of COVID-19 disruptions in
3
Namibia are: wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, administrative services, and hospitality which
includes tourism. Along with agriculture, these sectors represent many of the key industries where
young people currently find employment (World Bank, 2020a).
Many of these at-risk sectors are also the growth sectors targeted for Namibia’s longer-term Sustainable
Development Goals in relation to youth employment strategies. However, these strategies tend to
feature a longer-term inclusive growth agenda, rather than one which offers shock-responsive
protection in response to an economic crisis. And so COVID-19 will add an additional layer of burden to
the very strategies already working to support youth employment. Without proper protection for these
sectors and the youth that work in them, the pandemic’s effects are likely to be amplified (Behravesh
and Rocha, 2020).
In the recent decade, Namibia and indeed Africa’s trade linkage has been steadily increasing. Based on
an upcoming study on Africa-Asia global value chain (GVC) linkages, exports to Asia are positively
correlated with exports to the rest of the world, and increased exports from a Sub-Saharan African
country to Asia tend to raise exports to the rest of the world as well as to other African countries, thus,
helping Sub-Saharan African nations move up the value chains. Although exports from Sub-Saharan
Africa to Asia remain highly concentrated in resource-intensive products, such as petroleum, minerals,
metals, and primary goods, there are a few exceptions. For instance, Ethiopia and Tanzania have done
relatively well in diversifying their export portfolios during the boom of exports to Asia (UNECA, 2020).
However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic will put a brake on this for the time being. The mass
production shutdowns and supply chain disruptions due to the rare “twin supply-demand shock” will
create ripple effects across all of Namibia’s economic sectors, causing further uncertainty for a country
already grappling with widespread geopolitical and economic instability. With China, Africa’s largest
trading partner, and other major economies gradually reopening their economies, Namibia’s trade will
gradually pick up, however, the path might not be that smooth at least for the foreseeable 1-2 years
(World Bank, 2020a).
In terms of technological innovation, Namibia still lacks behind in this aspect, even despite the
lockdowns that lasted for too close to 6 months, very little innovations have come forth either from the
government or the private sector. It is to this end that the Itah Kandjii Murangi, Minister of Higher
Education, Technology and Innovation stated that Namibia needs the revival of industries, tourism and
the economy through new technologies amid COVID-19. Namibia needs to address unemployment,
4
particularly among the youth, strengthen its health system through new technologies, and develop a
robust IT infrastructure, among others, the minister said during a UNESCO-Africa-China high-level virtual
dialogue. COVID-19 has invoked desperation by upending the accepted visions and norms and pushed
humanity into survival mode, she said, adding that it has also changed the way of living and reshaped
daily routines (OECD, 2020).
It is evident that Namibia and other African countries are at the mercy of societies that are more prolific
and efficient in producing new knowledge, new products and new services, all of which are imported at
a high cost to Namibia, without empowering Namibians through education, industrial development, and
employment among others, Kandjii Murangi said. China's quick response and proactiveness in the use of
advanced technologies in fighting the pandemic have made a difference and turned the tide of COVID-
19, she added (OECD, 2020).
There are several ways the Coronavirus pandemic affects the economy, especially Micro Small and
Medium Enterprises, on both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, companies experience a
reduction in the supply of labour, as workers are unwell or need to look after children or other
dependents while schools are closed and movements of people are restricted. Measures to contain the
disease by lockdowns and quarantines lead to further and more severe drops in capacity utilization.
Furthermore, supply chains are interrupted leading to shortages of parts and intermediate goods
(Behravesh and Rocha, 2020).
On the demand side, a dramatic and sudden loss of demand and revenue for Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) severely affects their ability to function, and/or causes severe liquidity shortages.
Furthermore, consumers experience loss of income, fear of contagion and heightened uncertainty,
which in turn reduces spending and consumption (UNECA, 2020). These effects are compounded
because workers are laid off and firms are not able to pay salaries. Some sectors, such as tourism and
transportation, are particularly affected, also contributing to reduced business and consumer
confidence. More generally, SMEs are likely to be more vulnerable to social distancing than other
companies. The impact of the virus could have potential spill-overs into financial markets, with further
reduced confidence and a reduction of credit. These various impacts are affecting both larger and
smaller firms. However, the effect on SMEs is especially severe, particularly because of higher levels of
vulnerability and lower resilience related to their size (World Bank, 2020b).
5
The covid-19 pandemic and governments’ responses targeted at “flattening the curve” have severe
consequences for the day-to-day struggles of workers’ labour rights across Namibia. Corona virus has
posed huge risks to worker’s jobs, health and their living environment, during the lock downs, many
workers and workers unions reported that people where being retrenched unfairly and sometimes
without their benefiting, though who got their benefits did not received their full benefits. Government
through the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation have given a Labour
Directive relating to COVID-19 under the State of Emergency Regulations. However it has been noted,
however, that many employers are not complying with the directives. (ILO, 2020)
More stringent lockdowns may also put many formal sector workers at risk of unemployment, lost work
hours and reduced earnings, depending on the sector and occupation, as well as workers’ ability to work
from home. Early evidence shows that the jobs that can be done from home are concentrated in high-
skilled occupations, which could exacerbate within-country inequality in labour market outcomes.
Furthermore, the share of people who work from home is strongly correlated to countries’ internet
penetration (UNECA, 2020). Therefore, a large proportion formal workers in non-essential sectors in
Namibia are vulnerable to temporary or permanent job losses due to extended lockdowns. Not all these
job loses follow the laid down labour laws which is the worrying factor in case especially when the
Namibian government was making positive progress in attaining sustainable development goal number
8 (ILO, 2020)
There are number of measures that the Namibian government can put in place in order to ensure that
that the country is still on track to attaining the sustainable development goals. Measures for economic
reactivation should follow a job-rich approach, backed by stronger employment policies and institutions,
better-resourced and comprehensive social protection systems. International co-ordination on stimulus
packages and debt relief measures will also be critical to making recovery effective and sustainable.
International labour standards, which already enjoy tripartite consensus, can provide a framework
(OECD, 2020).
It is crucial to further diversify Namibia’s economy and strengthen the few strategic sectors. The
pandemic crisis highlights the importance of food and health sectors for all countries. Namibia is
uniquely positioned to further leverage its rich agricultural resources by improving basic infrastructure
and efficiency, and agro-processing capacity. More resources will be needed to strengthen the public
6
health sectors, with the support of development partners. Namibia must embrace the digital age and
adopt more and more digital technologies for both productions and services, such as banking, retailing,
and learning as well as public services. The sectors with high-level of digitization seems to weather the
storm much better. In doing so, it needs to strengthen its education system, especially the training and
learning related to digital skills.
Youth unemployment in a COVID-19 Namibia is a huge challenge, and it will require players across the
development sector to innovate and adjust our current systems of support. But if we act now, and do it
right, we can support a job-rich recovery, improve economic resilience, and reduce the impact of the
pandemic and its economic fallout on young people.
Given the specific circumstances SMEs are currently facing, developed, emerging and developing
countries have put measures in place to support them. While the first concern is public health, a wide
array of measures are being introduced to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus out break
on businesses. Specifically, many countries are urgently deploying measures to support SMEs and the
self-employed during this severely challenging time, with a strong focus on initiatives to sustain short
term liquidity. Such policies take various shapes. Some countries have focused on that have the
potential to cushion the blow for the economy and for all businesses. For instance, in many countries,
Central Banks have stepped in to support lending by alleviating monetary conditions and enabling
commercial banks to provide more loans to SMEs.
To cope with the consequences of COVID-19, there is need to solicit new and renew the ongoing
partnerships by reviewing SDGs priorities and timelines in line with Agenda 2030. Where possible,
extend program life cycles and introduce new programs specifically targeting the fight against COVID-19.
Gains through the exchange rate and excess resources to be used in a flexible manner to assist when
needs arises. The SDG-I Program should consider assessing the current projects life cycle and where
necessary, extend and expand the project scope to include emerging needs arising as a result of COVID-
19. Preferably, it would be important to consider renewing the ongoing partnerships and solicit new
partnerships that can assist Namibia to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Above all, investing in human capital is central to emancipating and boosting agency, both for the labor
market and a competitive economy, as well as in people’s everyday lives to promote cultural
development and knowledge acquisition. Education and skills development is essential at all levels and
in all contexts. For example, teaching not only how to program and code in schools, but more
7
importantly how to create new ICT solutions and use them socially, commercially and ethically to
improve prosperity, wellbeing and sustainability.
Careful embedding of technology into traditional as well as innovative activities is essential to both
support existing as well as enable new forms of social development. New innovative forms of education
are needed to meet the growing challenges of the knowledge economy, including life-long and life-wide-
learning, blended learning using different channels such as traditional face-to-face, mass media and new
technology innovations like social media, mass open online courses (MOOCs), personalized, self-directed
and independent learning, as well as crowd- and collaborative learning, etc. It is also important to
enable open participation as in citizen science, citizen journalism, and in civic engagement using digital
tools in decision-making.
In conclusion, The COVID-19 has clearly impacted the SDG implementation in Namibia. The rapid spread
of the pandemic and its growing death tolls and rising economic challenges have exposed the
vulnerability of an increasingly inter-connected and interdependent world.
8
References
Behravesh, N and Rocha, E.W. (2020). Interim Global Economic Forecast. London: IHS Markit.
International Labour Organization. (2020). ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Second
edition updated estimates and analysis.
Namibia Statistics Agency. (2020). Survey of COVID-19 effect on selected businesses. Namibia Statistics
Agency: Windhoek.
OECD (July 2020). Interim Economic Assessment Coronavirus: The world economy at risk, Paris France:
OECD.
UNCTAD (2020). Special edition, Counting the economic costs of coronavirus, 12 March 2020, Geneva
(Switzerland).
UNECA (2020). Economic Impact of the Covid19 on Africa, Economic Commission for Africa, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia
World Bank. (2020a). World economic situation and prospects. Washington DC: World Bank Group.
World Bank. (2020b). The World Bank In Namibia. Washington DC: World Bank Group.
