Fellow Namibians,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. As part of the ongoing response from the Government of the Republic of Namibia, the
Ministry of Finance hereby announces the National Employment and Salary Scheme
for COVID-19, in an effort to save jobs and reduce potential impact on employment
due to the pandemic.
2. The Ministry envisioned a wage subsidy program since the commencement of the
COVID-19 economic response efforts. During the stakeholder consultations, it came
to light that the Social Security Commission (SSC) has been mooting the same. The
efforts were combined to ensure effective utilisation of state resources. In this regard,
the Ministry of Finance is availing an amount of N$400 million, while the SSC is making
a cash contribution of N$253 million to the scheme. In addition SSC is granting a
contribution holiday of three months to the selected affected industries.
3. The Social Security Commission has a database with over 43,000 employers,
comprising of more than 372,000 employees, placing it in a perfect position to be an
implementing agency for the scheme. This database will serve as the key population
from which potential recipients of relief will be sought. Contributions to the social
security is a legislative requirement. Those that are not incompliance with the law
should not be considered beneficiaries of these programs.
4. The National Employment and Salary Protection Scheme for COVID-19 is an
employment scheme designed in terms of section 37 of the Social Security Act No 34
of 1994. The scheme will serve a dual purpose, firstly, to discourage employers from
retrenching employees in the short term and, secondly, to provide support for
individuals who have suffered a loss of income as a result of the COVID-19 shock.
The scheme encompasses the following two objectives:
5. The Employer Wage Subsidy Program for the hard hit industries under three (3)
sectors of aviation, tourism and construction. This program is designed to save jobs.
The program is driven by the following characteristics:
a. Employers of affected industries will receive a subsidy based on their total
wage bill, driven by an SSC contribution waiver and a cash injection from the
state. The aim is to give employers a cash subsidy of 17% of their total wage
bill and SSC contribution holiday, or both for a period of three months.
b. Prospective beneficiary employers should agree not retrench staff for the
three (3) months and should not be allowed to reduce staff salaries by more
than 50%
c. Any benefits to be received should be netted against any claims the employer
in question may have received from the state or other forms of compensation
(FIDIC or insurance).
d. The program is designed to potentially assist 7,900 employers employing
65,420 employees. The program is budgeted to receive N$150 million which
when combined with the waiver, should equate to ~25% of the total wage bill.
