Renthia Kaimbi and Patience Makwele
Granting men a statutory entitlement to paternity leave could see some fathers spending an entire year away from work if they have children with multiple women, justice and labour relations minister Fillemon Wise Immanuel told the Windhoek Observer on Tuesday.
Immanuel said that while the absence of statutory paternity leave remains an issue in Namibia, any move to introduce such an entitlement would require careful consideration because of the potential impact on workplace productivity.
“Other than the absence of a statutory paternity leave entitlement in Namibia, a call for its introduction needs to be carefully considered. At the risk of sounding stereotypical, most men could end up being on paternity leave for the whole year, given the likely frequency of paternity,” Immanuel said.
“This could seriously affect the productivity of the labour force,” he added.
Namibia currently has no law providing for a specific paternity leave benefit, meaning men are not entitled to a statutory benefit when their partners give birth.
Employers that offer paternity leave generally do so through their own workplace policies.
The minister’s comments come as the Social Security Commission (SSC) prepares to increase its maternity benefit from N$15 000 to N$20 000 from 1 October 2026.
The increase has sparked wider discussions about whether fathers should receive comparable support and whether maternity benefits could influence decisions about having children.
The issue of paternity leave was raised in parliament by Affirmative Repositioning member of parliament Fredrick Shitana on Tuesday, who questioned when men would have access to benefits comparable to those provided to women.
Immanuel said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) does not currently have a convention compelling member states to introduce statutory paternity leave, although governments have the power to legislate for it.
“What is important to underscore is that we don’t have a category for paternity leave,” Immanuel said.
He also referred to ILO Convention 156, which addresses workers with family responsibilities and promotes equality of opportunity and treatment for workers with such responsibilities. Namibia ratified the convention in August 2025.
The paternity leave debate comes as women and analysts are also questioning whether the N$20 000 maternity benefit should be viewed simply as income protection or as part of a broader response to Namibia’s demographic concerns.
Some women who spoke to the Windhoek Observer welcomed the increase, saying the additional payout could provide meaningful financial relief during a period when childbirth and caring for a newborn can place considerable pressure on household finances.
Augustine Iyaloo, 29, however, cautioned women against viewing the benefit as a reason to have more children.
“Maternity comes and goes, the child stays forever,” she said.
She questioned whether women would continue having children simply to access future maternity benefits, saying the financial responsibility of raising a child extends far beyond the period covered by the benefit.
Economist Elizabeth Nakwezi Munalula said the increase was significant, particularly for lower-income workers, but cautioned against considering the N$20 000 in isolation.
“For someone earning N$5 000 a month, N$20 000 sounds like a very large amount,” Munalula said.
“But pregnancy and raising a child don’t stop when maternity leave ends. The real financial question is not, ‘How much will I receive when I give birth?’ It is, ‘What happens to my household financially after that money is gone?’ And these women need to understand that this amount is not paid at once.”
Munalula said raising a child could involve expenses spanning 18 to 20 years, including food, clothing, childcare, transport, healthcare and education.
She said the maternity benefit should primarily be understood as income protection for a worker who temporarily leaves employment to give birth, rather than an incentive to have children.
“You cannot build a population strategy around the cost of giving birth and ignore the cost of raising the population,” she said.
Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah said a larger population could eventually contribute to economic growth by creating a bigger workforce and consumer base, but said population growth needed to occur alongside economic development and adequate services.
Kamwanyah welcomed the maternity increase, saying women carry a significant burden when it comes to childcare, but stressed that beneficiaries should understand who qualifies for the benefit and how it is intended to be used.
“It must be used responsibly and it must be used to plan family, plan carefully,” he said.
He also pointed out that the benefit does not cover every woman, as it applies to those covered by the Social Security system.
Political analyst Sakaria Johannes also said women celebrating the N$20 000 should consider the long-term consequences of having a child rather than focusing on the immediate payout.
He said the benefit could be exhausted relatively quickly, while the financial responsibility of raising a child remains.
“A child is one of the expensive things that people should consider before giving birth,” Johannes said.
Johannes questioned whether Namibia was prepared for the additional pressure that could accompany a growing population, particularly on employment, housing, healthcare and education.
“If people, even leaders, are encouraging people to give birth while we are already having a problem with unemployment, are we not going to find ourselves in problems?” he asked.
The debate follows recent calls for Namibians of childbearing age to have more children.
Last week, Swapo Party Women’s Council leader Fransina Kahungu called on Namibians to have more children, arguing that Namibia is “too few” and needs a larger population to support economic growth.
Her remarks have since triggered debate over how Namibians can be expected to expand their families while facing high living costs, unemployment and pressure on basic services.
Activist Michael Amushelelo said the maternity benefit and calls for population growth should be treated as separate issues.
He welcomed the increase but argued that the SSC should eventually move towards replacing a contributing woman’s full basic salary during maternity leave.
“If a woman earns N$45 000 per month before going on maternity leave, why should pregnancy suddenly reduce her income to N$20 000?” Amushelelo asked.
He rejected the idea that women should have more children simply because Namibia needs a larger population and future workforce.
“People do not raise children for three months. They raise them for decades,” he said.
He said population growth would not automatically create prosperity unless accompanied by housing, healthcare, childcare, education, skills development and employment opportunities.
“If we encourage more births today without expanding schools, hospitals, housing, infrastructure and employment opportunities, then we are simply transferring today’s socioeconomic crisis to the next generation on a much larger scale,” he said.
Munalula similarly said a larger population could provide Namibia with more workers and consumers in the future, but only if children receive adequate education, healthcare and skills and eventually enter a productive economy.
“The question cannot simply be, ‘How do we get more Namibians?’” she said.
“It has to be, ‘What kind of economy are we building for the Namibians we already have, and for the children who will become tomorrow’s adults?’”
Namibia’s 2023 Population and Housing Census recorded 85 991 births in the 12 months preceding the census, while the total fertility rate stood at 3.8 children per woman.
The country’s population stood at 3 022 401 in the 2023 census, with children aged between zero and 14 accounting for 37% of the population.
Meanwhile, the Namibia Statistics Agency’s 2023 Labour Force Report recorded unemployment at 36.9%, while the broader measure combining unemployment and the potential labour force stood at 54.8%.
The SSC’s other benefit increases from 1 October include sick leave benefits, rising from N$11 250 to N$15 000 for the first 12 months and from N$9 750 to N$13 000 for the final 12 months.
Death, retirement and disability benefits will each increase from N$12 000 to N$15 000.
