Namibia has been an independent, democratic country since 1990
country with a black government
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But although Namibia is one of the richer countries in Africa due to its mineral resources (uranium, copper, diamonds, etc.), the economy is characterized by high unemployment and a very low average per capita income. In a global comparison, Namibia shows the greatest differences in income distribution.
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The black population is particularly affected – despite the black government. Due to the high unemployment, many families live on the standard pension of a family member, which is currently 1,300 Namibian dollars (NAD) per month (equivalent to around 90 euros, as of 2022). On average, four to five people have to survive on this money. The main food is the daily maize porridge (Milliepapp), cooked from maize flour, sugar, water and a little oil. In most cases there is only one meal a day, sometimes less. According to the United Nations Development Program (UN), over 55 percent of Namibia's population has to live on around US$2 a day... Many children go hungry at the weekend and only get regular food in kindergarten.
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It looks like this:​
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the pensions have been increased since 1999 from 250 – 360 – 470 – 600 – 1000 to 1300 NAD in 2018
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the minimum wage/hour for unskilled workers is approximately NAD 9.00
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the prices for staple foods have increased dramatically in recent years: a liter of milk now costs 19.50 NAD, 2.5 kg of corn flour 34.50 NAD, 2 kg of sugar 28.99 NAD, a bottle of oil 34.95 NAD - it is not enough despite the pension increase, poverty is increasing. It is already known today that the UN Vision 2030 cannot be achieved by Namibia
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the drastic depreciation of the South African rand, which is parity with the Namibian dollar, supports the increase in poverty, only those who trade in US dollars or euros are lucky
Background
DRC (Democratic Resettlement Community), the largest illegal towship on the outskirts of Swakopmund, housed around 5,000
people in 2006.
In 2022, an estimated 32,000 people
lived in this area.
English, Afrikaans and German were common until independence
the country's official languages
In order to finally put an end to apartheid and foreign rule, but above all not to favor any of the existing population groups and thereby endanger the integrity of the country, the “neutral” language English was made the sole official language. The majority of the population speaks Afrikaans as a second language, with the tribal language Oshivambo being declared by half of the population as their mother tongue, because 60 percent of the total population are Ovambos and live in northern Namibia.
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German is the native language of 32 percent of the white population and a second language for most of the remaining white residents and a portion of the black population. In order to enforce the new official language, which was previously not very widespread, every child now has to learn English in addition to their tribal language. Because the schools teach in English, Afrikaans can be chosen as a second language. A large part of the black population of parents and grandparents can neither read nor write and only speaks the respective tribal language.
There are no state kindergartens in Namibia, as these have been classified as too expensive for the state.
State kindergartens were abolished at the same time as independence and the introduction of English as the official language. The white residents of Namibia have sufficient financial means to send their children to private kindergartens. Since apartheid officially no longer exists, these kindergartens are theoretically also open to black children.
But these kindergartens cost on average more than a unit pension each month, making kindergarten attendance beyond the financial means of most black families.
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This results in further difficulties for pre-school and school attendance: children who do not go to kindergarten or pre-school have no opportunity to learn English. They grow up speaking only their tribal language. This excludes them from the education system. Instead of going to school, the children are sent to work to help support the family. Although school attendance is compulsory, the number of real schoolgoers fell from 72 to 63 percent.