Enthusiasm with foundations: Why Namibia must build jobs, housing, and dignity before advocating for more births

Jeronimo Kateya

1. Introduction: The Call and The Context

In her 11 September 2026 reflection with the New Era, Kahungu stated that “Namibia must increase its population before it develops” because “for business to prosper you need a big number of customers” (Jason, 2026).

She is correct that Namibia’s three million people across 824,292 km² presents a developmental challenge (NSA, 2023). Conversely, it is of paramount importance that, with supreme logic, sequence matters.

In the 1920s-80s, Namibian parents relied on communal land, Mahangu fields, cattle, and goats. Today, climate change and urban migration have pushed millions of youth to cities seeking job opportunities (NSA, 2023).

Therefore, this paper argues that enthusiasm for the future must be logically congruent not only with the sitz-im-liben(Life situation) but with the foundations in the present.

2. Theoretical framework: How media and leaders shape reality

Agenda-Setting Theory states that media and political leaders do not tell us what to think, but what to think about (McCombs & Shaw, 1972).

Additionally, Cultivation Theory adds that repeated messages cultivate long-term beliefs (Gerbner et al., 1980). Therefore, responsible agenda-setting requires an equilibrium between “population” and “jobs” on the agenda.

3. The economic phenomenology of raising a family in 2026

In 2023, youth unemployment between the ages of 15-34 stood at 46.1% (NSA) whilst youth NEET was recorded at 61.2% (NSA).

Conversely, the average urban house price is at the value of N$1 180 000 (FNB), whilst on the contrary, food inflation is said to be at 6.8% (NSA).

Data on the child maintenance grant is set at N$250/month (Ministry of Gender, 2023). Kahungu herself acknowledged baby dumping, 124 suicides in Jan- March 2025, and road fatalities, which skyrocketed up to 33% (Jason, 2026).

In his Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio, no. 46, John Paul II (1981) teaches indefatigably that parents have a right to social and economic conditions that enable them to fulfil their duties.

This sacred teaching coheres with the Charter of the Rights of the Family (1983), which highlights this in Article no. 9, that families have the right to be able to rely on an adequate family policy on the part of public authorities in the juridical, economic, social and fiscal domains, without any discrimination whatsoever, and two points are of paramount importance:

a) Families have the right to economic conditions which assure them a standard of living appropriate to their dignity and full development.

b) Families have the right to measures in the social domain which take into account their needs, especially in the event of the premature death of one or both parents, of the abandonment of one of the spouses, of accident, or sickness or invalidity, in the case of unemployment, or whenever the family has to bear extra burdens on behalf of its members.

4. Decolonizing marriage: From demographic quota to vocation of dignity

A decolonial approach refuses to treat African bodies as instruments of labor. Casti Connubii no. 9 (1930) defined marriage as a sacrament of mutual love and partnership, not merely for procreation (Pope Pius XI, 1930).

Familiaris Consortio no.42 (1981) unambiguously inculcates that the family is “the first and vital cell of society” (Pope John Paul II, 1981). To decolonize marriage implies a rejection of the colonial worldview that African families exist to supply labor.

5. Comparative Case 1: China — Guangzhou pays first

China’s birth rate fell to 6.39 per 1 000 in 2023 (NBS, 2024).

Guangzhou’s policy interventions were reasonably calculated: up to ¥50,000 RMB (N$125 000) for third children, housing priority, and a 40% expansion of subsidized daycare were considered (Xinhua, 2023; Zhao & Chen, 2024). A 2024 evaluation found a 7.2% rise in birth registrations where the policy was implemented (CASS, 2024).

6. Comparative Case 2: Israel — Make the desert bloom first

In 1948, Israel had a population of 650,000. Today, 9.8 million have a fertility rate of 2.90, the highest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (CBS, 2024; OECD, 2024).

Israel first invested in drip irrigation and agritech to create jobs, then added child allowances and 26 weeks of paid maternity leave (Israel Ministry of Finance, 2022).

7. “Namibia first”: The policy path forward

Recently, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah advocated for a “Namibia First” approach in Dâures, Swakopmund (President’s Office, 2026).

There ought to be a proposed family foundation package taking into consideration employment creation for the youth, family startup grants for couples, and a suggestion to elevate the child grant above the current grant and, in addition, to cater for care infrastructure to address baby dumping and mental health.

8. Conclusion: Enthusiasm, not pressure

Kahungu’s optimistic vision for population growth deserves recognition, yet enthusiasm lacks substance without solid practical foundations.

Socrates’ observation that life without reflection is not worth living offers a vital warning: national fertility goals must be thoughtfully grounded in real lived experience. International examples from China and Israel demonstrate that sustained public investment must come before efforts to lift birth rates.

Catholic social doctrine also frames marriage as a vocation, one that can only be lived responsibly when families have the resources to raise children.

Aligned with President NandiNdaitwah’s “Namibia First” principle, the nation can welcome more people to contribute to society, but only after securing stable employment, adequate housing, and genuine hope for its citizens.

Namibia faces crippling youth unemployment and a critical shortage of affordable homes, leaving countless households unable to guarantee food, shelter, and schooling for extra children.

Pushing for higher birth rates before resolving these structural gaps threatens to lock future generations into cycles of black tax and intergenerational poverty.

As Catholic teaching affirms, parents hold fundamental rights to supportive social and economic environments so they can carry out their family responsibilities; steady employment and proper housing are essential to realise these rights.

A growing population only yields a demographic benefit when young people can access decent work. Bringing more children into an economy that already fails to employ its youth will simply widen inequality and public discontent and frustrations such as GBV.

Advocating for higher fertility while informal settlements keep growing and living wages remain unattainable risks reducing children to mere demographic tools, ignoring their inherent right to dignity, safety and opportunity from the start.

National strategy must therefore prioritise jobs, housing and social safety nets. Only when families enjoy material security can people choose parenthood freely and with inherent dignity, rather than facing it as a heavy survival burden.