Stefanus Nashama
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes believes the release of the Labour Force Thematic Report next year, is politically motivated and election-based.
The Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) on Tuesday announced that it would only release the report on 29 January 2025.
The last Labour Force Survey was done in 2018, which found the country’s unemployment rate stood at 32%.
“In a nutshell, it’s a politically motivated decision in general and an election-based decision, in particular,” he said.
Johannes said that if the report is released before the elections, the current government will suffer at the ballot box.
“Such information might be strategically released at that time after the election because those who are in power cannot allow such information at this sensitive time,” he said.
He added that if such a report is released before the elections, opposition political parties may exploit the situation.
“How can they convince voters if releasing such information will give an advantage to the opposition?” he questioned.
The NSA did not provide a specific reason for only releasing most of the thematic reports in the first three months of 2025.
Political analyst Henning Melber suspects that the NSA preparation requires more time.
“Since the Main Report is published at the end of October, it seems unlikely that it is guided by the intention to cover anything up before the elections. I tend to assume it is simply a matter of capacity rather than suspecting something else,” he said.
The Labour Force Thematic Report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and gender gaps in the labour force.
This includes disparities in labour force participation rates, employment-to-population ratios, and unemployment rates.
The NSA will release the main report on the population and housing census, the post-enumeration survey, and the regional basic spatial analysis atlas (14) based on preliminary results at the end of the month.
Political parties have promised to reduce the unemployment rate.
The Popular Democratic Movement repeated its 2019 manifesto promise to tackle unemployment by mandating that up to 50% of all natural resources undergo local value addition.
Independent Patriots for Change are promising to halve youth unemployment within five years and create sustainable jobs for graduates.
Swapo has pledged to allocate N$85.7 billion over five years to create mass employment if voted into power.
Affirmative Repositioning promised to give companies a one-year tax holiday as a means to address the country’s high unemployment rate.
