Job Muniaro
National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) secretary-general Job Muniaro said that it might be difficult to outline the impact because the country doesn’t have a productivity centre.
Muniaro stressed the need for a productivity policy to guide the national production of the country.
He said that the pandemic has destroyed the supply and demand for all sorts of goods in the country.
Namibia produces less of what it consumes.
He said that the ‘growth at home’ concept should be utilized.
“We shouldn’t blame poor productivity in Namibia on COVID-19,” he claimed.
He added that the ban on alcohol sales should be reviewed.
“Consider the people employed by Namibia Breweries and the shebeens, maybe say people should buy beer & drink at home,” he proposed.
Namibia Employers Federation’s (NEF) secretary-general Daan Strauss said that poor productivity cannot entirely be placed at the door of the pandemic.
Strauss said Namibia lacks the necessary skills to boast a great production. Coordination among universities and industries needed to address the skills gap.
Deputy Director of Labour Market Information Mr David Iigonda said the pandemic already found Namibian labour sector in trouble.
Iigonda also said workers were being laid off even before the outbreak, which compromises productivity.
He said that the closed borders due to the pandemic has limited industries to get experts from outside the country for maximum production as well as equipment that certain productions require from abroad/overseas. He added that COVID-19 impacted on productivity badly.
