Cost of living in Namibia
The cost of living in Namibia is higher than some other regional cities in the southern region of the African continent.[1][2][3] Namibia imports about 50% of its cereal requirements. Many other items used in daily life also need to be imported. High transportation costs make prices very high and unaffordable. Monopolies in some business sectors causes higher profit booking, which also results in raising of prices.[4][failed verification][5]
For example, the price (in 2013) of electricity for domestic consumers in Windhoek for post-paid consumers was 1.08 N$ per unit (KWH) added with ECB levy of 0.0150 N$ per unit and NEF levy of 0.0102N$ per unit, with a fixed cost based on load added to the bill. Consumers who have prepaid metering units paid 1.57 N$ per unit of electricity, with an added ECB levy of 0.0150 N$ per unit and NEF levy of 0.0102N$ per unit.[6][7] The price of gasoline was ~13 N$ per liter,[8] and the price of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) was ~8 N$ per liter.[9] Rent for a family accommodation may exceed 12000 N$ per month in safe urban locations.[10] The price of a 1-litre water bottle is ~15 N$, one litre of UHT Milk is ~15N$, and a raw egg is ~2N$. The cost of 1 kg fresh chicken is around 60N$, while 1 kg frozen chicken is around 45N$. Red meat costs 60-100N$ per kg.[11][12][13] The cost of making an international call, other than to a neighbouring country, is 12 N$ per min and internet access over 3G costs over 1 N$ per MB.[14]
Banking in Namibia
[edit]The banking sector in Namibia is highly developed with modern infrastructure, such as online banking, cellphone banking etc. The Bank of Namibia (BoN) is the central bank of Namibia, according to the Namibian Constitution, is to "serve as the State’s principal instrument to control the money supply, the currency and the institutions of finance, and to perform all other functions ordinarily performed by a central bank".[15]
This is a list of authorised commercial banks in Namibia[16]
Namibian banks offer wide variety of products like savings accounts, cheque accounts, transmission accounts, investment accounts, credit cards accounts and many types of loan accounts (vehicle Loans, mortgage/housing loans, personal loans etc.) to meet its customer requirements. The money in savings & investment accounts earns interest, while no interest is paid for cheque and transmission accounts. The credit balance in credit card accounts also earn interest. Most of the accounts are subjected to monthly account fees and credit card accounts are subjected to annual fees. There are no reward / loyalty programs for using credit cards in Namibia.[17]
The interest earned in any bank account is subjected to a flat 10% retention as income tax. All debit transactions, including debit card transactions, credit card transactions, at the bank's teller counter transactions & online banking transactions are also subjected to a government duty of 0.2N$ per transaction.
The bank's charges are applicable for cash handling transactions such as cash deposits and cash withdrawal at bank's teller counter (for certain savings account, the cash deposits up to only 1000 N$/Months are exempted from this fee). Bank's charges are also applicable for each transaction carried out by internet banking or by debit cards, which are significantly lower than "at the counter transactions".[18]
Taking a cash or personal loan from a financial institution in Namibia is particularly very expensive because the loan repayment includes several fees such as stamp duties, Namfisa charges, credit life insurance, administration fees, finance charges and Value Added Tax (VAT)".[19] The banking business in Namibia is one of the most profitable business and banks are making hundreds of millions out of a tiny 2.1 million Namibian population.[20]
The cross-border money transfer facilities are limited to major bank in towns. The money transfer to countries outside of common monetary area is particularly very expensive because of high banks commission and one of the poorest currency buying & selling rates. The bank's commission is applicable to both inward and outward remittance.[21] Cross border foreign currency bank cheque and bank draft have been abolished. SWIFT is the preferred method for cross border remittance by banks.[22] Further, in an effort to curb money laundering and to protect the country's foreign exchange reserves, exchange control regulation is applied to all outward remittances. An expatriate employee in Namibia is only allowed send a certain percentage of their net earning back to their home country. In terms of exchange control regulations, every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of these regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding N$250000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years (5) or both.[23]
Working and living in Namibia
[edit]With 29.6% unemployment,[24] the government is unenthusiastic about letting people in from foreign countries who would take jobs from Namibians. All semi-skilled and unskilled positions must be unconditionally filled by local Namibians.[25][26][27]
It is possible to get a work permit to volunteer, though this requires going through the same drawn-out process as the normal work permit. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of his/her residence permit conditions shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding N$12000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years (2) or both.[28][29][30]
An employee's salary is normally paid in Namibian dollars, which is the local currency and income tax (maximum rate is 37% and is based on different income slabs) is deducted by the employer. One Namibian dollar (NAD) is always equal to one South African rand (ZAR). One United States dollar (1 US$ or US$1) = 14.50 Namibian Dollar (N$ or NAD).[31]
Schooling in Namibia
[edit]There are government schools all around the country, private schools (mostly located in towns) and one international school in the capital city Windhoek.[32] Primary education at government schools is free of charge as of 2013,[33] and secondary education since 2016.[34] Tertiary educational institutions, both private and public, charge tuition fees.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Windhoek is 34,73% more expensive than Cape Town". 28 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Windhoek's cost of living sky-rocketing, Official China Embassy Website". Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ "Cost of Living Triggering Labour Unrest". Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^ "Economy::Namibia : Economy-Overview". Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "2010 Investment Climate Statement - Namibia". Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "Interim Schedule Of Approved Tariffs 2013-2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "City of Windhoek hikes power tariffs". Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
- ^ "Fuel prices remain unchanged" (PDF). Ministry of Mines and Energy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ Graig, Augetto. "Namibian News Online". Namibian.com.na. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Property Listing in Namibia". Myproperty.com.na. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
- ^ "Meat, fish, poultry too costly". New Era. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Dairy products up 5,3%". The Namibian. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ "Spar Market Price List". The Price List by Spar Market in Maerua Mall, Windhoek. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ "Prepaid Call rate for MTC Tango". MTC.com.na. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ "Bank of Namibia (BoN)". Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ "Bank of Namibia >> Bank Operations>> Banking Supervision and Regulations >>Authorised Banks". Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ "First National Bank Pricing Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Standard Bank Pricing Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ "Banks Commit 'Daylight Robbery'". Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "FNB Nam pile up profits". 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Forex rates and Forex History". Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Bank Windhoek finally bans cross-border cheques". 15 July 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "FAQ on Exchange Control Regulations". April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Unemployment rate increases to 29.6%". Namibia Economist. 28 March 2014.
- ^ "China Is A Cactus in Namibia". 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Chinese sentenced for overstaying". 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Chinese man butchered at Rundu". 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ "N$12 000 fine for overstaying". 19 February 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "Egyptian fined for overstaying". 28 April 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ "State takes millions found in Chinese shop". 7 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ "State Bank of India South Africa". Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ "Windhoek International School". Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ "Free Primary Education from 2013". Government of Namibia. 20 December 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ "Free secondary education in 2016 – Hanse-Himarwa". New Era. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2016.