Churches in support of GLI

Back in 1986, when CPJ released its alternative budget “A Proposal that the Federal Government Establish an $11 Billion Social Development and Job Creation Fund,” calling for a Guaranteed Annual Income, the proposal received support from numerous Canadian churches. The Anglican Church of Canada, the Canadian Council of Churches, the Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the United Church in Canada all endorsed CPJ’s proposal.

Some of these churches, in particular the United Church, had long been advocating for a guaranteed livable income themselves. But since the 1980s, as interest in GLI waned in Canada, churches have no longer been actively promoting GLI.

In other parts of the world, churches remain at the forefront of the advocacy effort. In Namibia, where an experiment in guaranteed income is currently underway, the idea was spearheaded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN).

In 2002, the Namibian Tax Consortium, tasked with reviewing Namibia’s tax system, recommended a basic income grant, or BIG, as a solution to Namibia’s widespread inequality and poverty. The government ignored the proposal, but the ELCRN endorsed it. They sponsored a conference on income security in 2004, where the Namibia BIG coalition was formed. The Council of Churches in Namibia is one of the biggest partners.

Because the government was not interested in BIG, Bishop Zephania Kameeta of the ELCRN proposed a pilot project. The goal was to demonstrate the BIG could work in practice, and to highlight the possible effects of a BIG for Namibia’s population. Kameeta found his inspiration in apartheid South Africa, where “prophetic examples” showed the possibilities of another way of doing things.

The pilot project was implemented in January 2008 in Otjivero-Omitaro. Because the government refused participation, money for the project came from international donors. Many churches and Christian organizations have donated money towards the project, including Bread for the World, the Lutheran World Federation, the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa, the United Evangelical Mission, the Evangelical Church in Rhineland, and the Evangelical Church in Wesfalen.

The project is managed by the Desk for Social Development of the ELCRN, with the Reverend Doctors Claudia and Dirk Haarmann in charge.

The results have been stunning. The BIG has helped to achieve progress towards all 8 Millennium Development Goals in the region. Child malnutrition has declined, with the number of underweight children dropping from 42% to 17% in the first six months of the project. More children are now attending school, as parents can pay school fees and have prioritized the purchase of school uniforms. Many people were able to use the grants to engage in more productive activity, meaning that income in the area went up more than the amount of the grants. Access to health clinics and Anti-Retroviral Treatments increased. Economic and poverty-related crime has decreased, and women have been freed from transactional sex.

Bishop Kameeta has compared the BIG program to the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. “Jesus did not make his feeding of the 5000 subject to the condition that the people fulfill any qualifications. His help and his love were and are unconditional. Such a Basic Income Grant frees people to take the initiative and accept responsibility.”

For more on BIG Namibia, including the six-month report on the pilot project, check out the BIG Coalition’s website.