In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the government of the Republic of Namibia introduced a number of stimulus and relief measures to directly support individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporations, and safeguard jobs. Fiscal and monetary measures were undertaken in the form of loans or loan payment moratoriums, but trade unions note that these schemes mainly favoured big businesses, as smaller businesses were wary of requesting them to avoid further indebtedness.
Specific measures in the area of social protection included a once off emergency income grant of N$750 to employees who lost their jobs during the pandemic in the formal and informal sectors. But this initiative has been characterised by bureaucratic ways of handling
