BIG Pilot Project - Assessment Report - BIG Coalition Namibia

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Section 2: Impact Assessmentlarge aim. The aim is to UPLIFT the 'life' of Omitara, thenNamibia, then Africa and at last the world” (BIG Committee,2007)Photo 11: Otjivero-Omitara elected its own BIG CommitteeIn September 2007, this BIG committee set itself a highstandard by developing a strict code of conduct andoutlining a number of tasks for the committee and itsindividual members. The committee elected a numberof so-called 'control officers'. The name 'control officer'may appear, at first glance, to have a rather negativeconnotation. However, the committee explained thatthe name should support the seriousness of their tasksin contrast to weaker labels like 'advisor' which, theysaid, are known to be ineffective. 'Control officers' weretasked with educating, conscientising and empoweringpeople in the community to make the best use of theirBIG payments. The 'control officers' are not there toforce people to spend the money in certain ways, butrather to raise awareness and provide advice.The committee was well aware of the widespread problemof alcohol abuse and knew that this would receivespecial attention during the pilot project. Accordingly,shebeen owners were represented on the committeeand were asked to assist with their advice and coopera-38
2.5 Community Mobilisationtion. This bore fruit when the shebeens agreed not toopen on the days the BIG was paid out. The challengeof alcoholism was openly discussed from the outset andaddressed through a process of community mobilisation.It was encouraging to see the powerful community mobilisationhappening in Otjivero-Omitara even beforethe implementation of the BIG. The successful start inJanuary confirmed the sense of trust between the communityand the BIG Coalition. Due to the excellent organisationand work of the committee, the BIG Coalitionhas so far not experienced any problems in the cooperationand communication with the community ofOtjivero-Omitara.It should be mentioned that the BIG Coalition and theresearch teams tried to make contact with the surroundingcommercial farmers in order to learn abouttheir views on the pilot project and the developments inOtjivero-Omitara. However, the farmers have so farbeen reluctant to engage with the process.2.6 Dependency or dignity?The BIG Coalition and the community of Otjivero-Omitarahas also had to deal with criticisms from those opposedin principle to the BIG. One had hoped that theresults presented in the 6 months report could informthe discussion, and in some cases it has. However,there is a level of debate that occurs at a purely ideologicaland emotive level which seems impervious to thedata.These criticisms revolve around two core beliefs: that acash transfer is bad for people because it gives themrights without responsibility; and that poor people arenot capable of spending the money wisely. On the eveof a press conference, the BIG Coalition received anemail providing a typical example of such argumentation(2 nd November 2008). The person asked that theemail should be read as a contribution to the discussionat the press conference, and we reproduce it here:39
Page 3: Making the difference!The BIG in Na
Page 6 and 7: 3.1 AFFORDABILITY..................
Page 8 and 9: Photo 20: School performance and at
Page 10 and 11: ForewordWhen we came to Otjivero-Om
Page 12 and 13: I am convinced that the BIG is not
Page 14 and 15: AcknowledgementsThis study would no
Page 16 and 17: have become a reality. The BIG Coal
Page 18 and 19: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThis report presen
Page 20 and 21: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY➢➢➢➢➢➢
Page 22 and 23: Section 1: The BIG a small project
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The poor,however,tend tospend agrea
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98Section 3: A national Basic Incom
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BIG Pilot Project - Assessment Report - BIG Coalition Namibia

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