POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR IN NAMIBIA
POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR IN NAMIBIA: USING A CASE STUDY OF THE GOREAGAB DAM INFORMAL SETTLEMENT.
A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
BY
FRANS T. KADHIKWA
21511284
TO BE SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
At
SOUTHERN BUSINESS SCHOOL
Lecture:
Due date: 23 April 2018
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u 1.INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH PAGEREF _Toc511905089 h 41.1 INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc511905090 h 41.2 BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH PAGEREF _Toc511905091 h 42.LITERATURE REVIEW PAGEREF _Toc511905092 h 53.SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH PAGEREF _Toc511905093 h 74.RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT PAGEREF _Toc511905094 h 75.RESEARCH QUESTIONS PAGEREF _Toc511905095 h 86.AIM AND OBJECTIVES PAGEREF _Toc511905096 h 87.THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY PAGEREF _Toc511905097 h 87.1 RESEARCH DESIGN PAGEREF _Toc511905098 h 87.2 UNIT ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc511905099 h 97.3 IDENTIFICATION OF VARIABLES PAGEREF _Toc511905100 h 97.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES PAGEREF _Toc511905101 h 97.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS PAGEREF _Toc511905102 h 107.6 DATA ANALYSIS PAGEREF _Toc511905103 h 108.CONSTRAINTS OF RESEARCH PAGEREF _Toc511905104 h 109.OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER STRUCTURE PAGEREF _Toc511905105 h 1010.RESEARCH TIME AND SCHEDULE PAGEREF _Toc511905106 h 1111.BUDGET PAGEREF _Toc511905107 h 1112.CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc511905108 h 1213.RECOMMENDATION PAGEREF _Toc511905109 h 1214.REFERENCES PAGEREF _Toc511905110 h 13
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
NSA – Namibia Statistics Agency
TIPEEG – Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth
NDP – National Development Plan
HPP – Harambe Prosperity Plan
NGO- Non-governmental organisations
HIES – Household Income and Expenditure Survey
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH 1.1 INTRODUCTIONThe study seeks to investigate the relationship between unemployment and poverty with crime at the Goreagab Dam informal settlement in the Katutura suburb on the outskirts of Windhoek. In sum, the study will focus on the background information, the research problem, the research question, the aims and the significance of the study. A literature review will follow which will present the context of the research by looking at what work has been done by other researchers and what needs to be done in order to fill in the gaps. The study will also look at the research methodology and methods to be followed when undertaking the study. No such research had been carried out before and this study has attempted to fill that void.
1.2 BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHUnemployment and poverty are the two major social concerns globally and Namibia is no exception. Unemployment leads to financial crisis and reduces the overall purchasing capacity of a nation while poverty implies a financial condition where people are unable to maintain the minimum standard of living. Poverty’ is a multidimensional concept referring to a lack of resources with which to acquire a set of basic goods and services. Poverty can also be conceptualised as a state of deprivation. While Unemployment leads to a breakdown of social norms in a society including poverty, which tends to pave the way for criminal behaviour. Those adversely strained by circumstances beyond their control may resort to criminal behaviour. Namibia at large is one of the many African countries with people living in poverty and with the high unemployment rate. According to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) report (2014, p. 9), based on the results of the 2013 labour force survey, Namibia’s unemployment rate had increased from 28.1 percent in 2014 to 34 percent of the working population in 2015, which is extremely high among Namibian youth 42 percent. According to the report on the MDGs, Namibia managed to achieve the poverty reduction targets ahead of 2015, but inequality remains a serious challenge, with high poverty levels in rural areas, among female-headed households, older people and subsistence farmers.
LITERATURE REVIEWThe study wants to find out if there is a relationship between poverty, unemployment and crime.
When people are living in poverty or become unemployed, they are unable to handle their life standard. They become irrational in making the decision of how they can meet their needs – which leads them to criminal activities. Poverty and unemployment are caused by different factors such as economic condition, lack of skills among people as well as failure in the labour market. Crime has an impact on the society; it can affect people economically, psychologically and physically (Niikondo, 2010)
Poverty is a common condition for the majority of the world’s people and nations (World Bank, 2004). It exists when certain sections of the population cannot satisfy even their basic primary needs in terms of food, clothing and shelter. It has long been an extremely serious problem in underdeveloped nations, with more than one-third of the world population, even today, is below the poverty line. The (World Bank, 2004) contends that poverty indicators include hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to see a doctor, not having access to school, and not knowing how to read. Similarly, (Sharma, 2012) argues that poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. In this context, the poor are identified by a determination as to what constitutes basic needs. These needs are those elements necessary for survival, and individuals who fall below the population as a whole in terms of nutrition, housing, clothing, health and education would be termed ‘poor’. Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. The most frequent measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate, which is the number of unemployed people divided by the number of people in the labour force. There are three types of unemployment:
Structural unemployment According to Thoma (2010) this form of unemployment occurs when the labour market does not cater for all people seeking for employment.
Frictional unemployment According to Orlandi (2012, p. 2) frictional unemployment occurs when a person is changing from one job to another.
Cyclical unemployment Jerry (2010, p. 1) states that this form of unemployment occurs when there is less demand in the labour market to provide jobs for people looking for them.
Its believe that lot of people living in poverty are those also that are unemployed and they are the one committing crimes such as Shoplifting, pickpocketing, domestic violence, robbery, theft and housebreaking
The latest HIES (2009/10) found out that the levels of poverty were experienced in Khomas Region. Despite the government’s resolve to address poverty and unemployment through a variety of national development initiatives, the rate of poverty and unemployment continues to soar in major party of the country. Notably, central projects established by the government, such as the Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG), the Mass Housing Scheme as well as The Harambe Prosperity Plan (HPP) have failed in creating permanent employment opportunities and reduce poverty in the country. The result is that people employed by such projects are left unemployed once they have completed what they were tasked to do and some project are put on hold due to financial problem and corruption by some government officials. As a result, those who are poor remain poor and the richer continue to be richer.
Poverty and Unemployment is a known contributing factor to crime in Namibia. When people of working age are without a job or a source of income for a long period of time, their bond with the social contract of conformity becomes fragile. They become economically and socially depressed. They live in poverty with no basic food and services. As a consequence, people become irrational and more set out toward making a decision of engaging in criminal activities. These criminal activities are motivated by the benefits that are likely to be obtained by committing illegal activities. This is because potential offenders are known to weigh the cost and benefits of committing a crime and if the benefits outweigh the punishment, they proceed with committing the crime (Ehrlich and Liu, 2006, p. 64).
Unemployed people tend to spend more of their time doing unproductive activities, unlike those that are employed. Therefore, the increasing level of poverty and unemployment contributes to more criminal behaviour, because people are predisposed to criminal activities (Ehrlich and Liu, 2006, p. 65).
SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCHThis study would be a useful tool to influence the government, the private sector, policymakers and all criminal justice agencies. It seeks to give a clear picture of the consequences of both poverty and unemployment in the country, and this should be a great concern to everybody in the society.
RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT
According to the Namibia Labour Force Survey (2014, p. 9), Namibia has an alarming unemployment rate. This unemployment rate increased from 27.4 percent in 2012 to 29.6 percent in 2013. The statistics further show that the Namibian youth makes up most of the unemployed population with an increase from 37.8 in 2012 to 41.7 in 2013. Between 2010 and 2016 poverty in the whole Namibia was reduced from 28.7 percent of the population in 2009/10 to 18 percent in 2015/16 according to the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5) report, But that was just a reduction; people are still in severe poverty especial those who live in the informal settlement of Windhoek city such Goreagab Dam. This can be attributed to the fact that unemployed Namibians are frequently migrating from rural areas to informal settlements, such as the Goreagab Dam settlement and this increases criminal activities in the said settlement and other informal settlement areas in Namibia. Unemployed individuals are faced with an increase in tension, anger and resentment towards their society, which gives birth to the breakdown of social norms and families and this motivate people to engage in criminal activities. The research will seek to establish the relationship between poverty and unemployment with crime
RESEARCH QUESTIONSIs there any relationship between poverty and unemployment with the crime?
What are the root causes of Poverty and unemployment in the Goreagab Dam Settlement area?
What are the crimes caused by poverty and unemployment?
AIM AND OBJECTIVESThe general objective of the study is to investigate the state of poverty and unemployment as a contributing factor to criminal behaviour in Namibia using a case study of the Goreagab Dam informal settlement. The specific objectives of the study are:
To identify the relationship between poverty and unemployment with the crime.
To investigate the root causes of Poverty and unemployment in the Goreagab Dam Settlement area.
To identify specific crimes caused by poverty and unemployment.
The aim of the research is to investigate whether poverty and unemployment are the root cause of criminal behaviour in Goreagab Dam settlement area. It will focus on the poor and unemployed people in the Goreagab Dam Settlement Area. Goreagab Dam is perceived to be one of the informal settlements in Windhoek with a high poverty rate, high number of unemployment and high crime rates.
THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 7.1 RESEARCH DESIGNThe research design is the overall plan for addressing a research question(s), including recommendations to enhance the integrity of the study. Qualitative research methods such as the questionnaires will be used to conduct this study. A closed and open-ended questionnaire compiled by the researcher and validated by the researcher’s supervisor served as a research instrument to collect primary data. Secondary data will be obtained from books, journals and polytechnic e-sources. Every research questionnaire will be accompanied by a letter explaining the purpose of the study.
7.2 UNIT ANALYSISThe research process will have three distinct phases – (1) planning, (2) data collection and analysis. The planning phase will commence with the development of a theoretical framework from the literature. The literature review is an on-going throughout the period of data collection and analysis so that the theoretical framework could be updated as new elements will be highlighted by the data. Secondly, an appropriate case will be carefully selected and a data collection protocol was designed to mark the end of the research-planning phase.
7.3 IDENTIFICATION OF VARIABLESThe study focused on people living in poverty and the unemployed residents from the Goreagab Dam settlement area. The reason for choosing this population is that the researcher is able to acquire the necessary and much-needed information from the targeted population. Police officers from Wanaheda police station will form part of this study as they interact with the unemployed suspects on a daily basis. The councillor; Members of Trade Union as well as members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will be also interviewed to reflect their views on the general state of poverty and unemployment in Namibia.
7.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUESA convenience sampling method will be used in this study in selecting unemployed and people leaving in poverty that are residents of Goreagab Dam settlement area, Wanaheda police station, members of trade union, as well as members of NGOs. Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. The sample size is 22 respondents which comprise of five (5) unemployed residents from Goreagab Dam residential area, ten (10) people living in poverty from Goreagab Dam residential area (2) police officers from the Wanaheda police station, one (1) councillor of the Samora Mashell constituency where Goreagab Dam as a settlement fell, two (2) members from Trade Union as well as two (2) members of NGOs
7.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODSA total of 22 questionnaires are designed and will be placed with police officers (2), unemployed residents from Goreagab Dam settlement (5), people living in poverty from Goreagab Dam residential area (10), Trade Union officials (2), NGOs (2) and a councillor of Havana Informal settlement (1). All six categories are expected to return all their questionnaires completed because the researcher will be present at the time of completing their questionnaires.
7.6 DATA ANALYSISThe information obtained from the questionnaires will be interpreted, described, discussed and presented in a logical and manageable format. The unity analysis uses mainly an interpretive and descriptive method.
CONSTRAINTS OF RESEARCHThe researcher is aware of some limitations to be encountered. Firstly, the population in the Goreagab Dam settlement is part of a multicultural community with a number of different indigenous languages. Hence, the researcher will be faced with the dilemma of not being able to communicate with all the individuals sampled by this study. Whenever such cases arose the researcher will make use of an interpreter.
OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER STRUCTURE
The study will be divided into chapters. The chapters are organised ranging from one to five, and each chapter will cover an aspect of the study as follows:
CHAPTER 1 provides a brief introduction and background to the study. The research problem statement which briefly informs the relationship between poverty and unemployment with crime as well as the impact of poverty and unemployment on criminal behaviour in Goreagab Dam Settlement Area if it is not dealt with. It is the central idea of the study. The research objectives and research questions also form part of this study. Furthermore, this chapter contains the significance of the study which provides a realistic framework for conducting this study. Lastly, the constraints of the study will be outlined at the end of this chapter.
CHAPTER 2 contains a theoretical framework and the body of literature on the topic of the study. The chapter clarifies the rationale for unemployment being one of the causes of poverty. It deals with types of both poverty and unemployment and outlines which of those types reflects the state of poverty and unemployment in Namibia. Furthermore, the chapter provides opinions from different sources in the literature about the relationship between poverty and unemployment with the crime. The chapter also discusses different types of crimes associated with people living in poverty as well as the root cause of unemployment.
CHAPTER 3 provides the roadmap of the methodology used in conducting the study in terms of the research design, unit of analysis sample and sample type, as well as the instruments used in data collection, identification of variables, and budget thereof before conducting actual research and concludes informing on the proposed time schedule.
CHAPTER 4 covers the presentation of data collected and actual data analysis. The questionnaires are analysed and described in a text format. It discusses the findings of the study, compares and contrasts them with the literature. This chapter comprises a clear summary of the findings and deductions made from the findings.
CHAPTER 5 suggests recommendations for policy change and future research and draws conclusions, interpreted within the original problem framework and research objectives.
RESEARCH TIME AND SCHEDULEThe time schedule of the research will be from Monday to Friday during office hours which is 8h00-17h00 for the period of one month.
BUDGETDuring the research there will be a use of public transport to be used as a mean of transport to reach different offices and individual in the informal sector of Goreagab dam and because of the interpreters to use N5000.00 will be budgeted for the whole study.
CONCLUSION
Poverty and Unemployment are believed to contribute to criminal behaviour. The study focuses on poverty and unemployment as a contributing factor to criminal behaviour in Namibia. It is conducted in the Goreagab Dam settlement; in the suburb of Katutura in the Outskirt City of Windhoek. The relationship of poverty and unemployment with crime, the cause of poverty and unemployment in Namibia and the types of crime that result from poverty and unemployment are the objectives of this study.
RECOMMENDATIONThis study concentrated on poverty, unemployment and crimes in Havana informal settlement. The root cause of poverty and unemployment in Goreagab Dan informal settlement and possible crimes that result from them will be highlighted. However, it is to the researcher’s knowledge that not enough research done for the prevention of poverty and unemployment. Thus, it is recommended that more research was done on the preventing measures of poverty unemployment in an informal settlement and the crimes resulting from them.
REFERENCESEhrlich, I., & Liu, Z. (2006). The economics of crime. The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, 2 (195), 1-328.
Jerry, W. (2010). What are the 3 types of unemployment & their causes, & which of these is economically & socially least costly? Retrieved July 18, 2014, from https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100910144645AAyLeuZNamibia Labour Force Survey. (2014). The Namibia labour force survey 2013 report. Windhoek, Namibia: Namibia Statistics Agency.
Niikondo, A. (2010). Migrants to cities and towns in Namibia: what their interest are?. Windhoek, Namibia.
Orlandi, F. (2012). Structural unemployment and its determinant in the EU countries. European Commission. Retrieved August 06, 2014 from http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/economic_paper/2012/pdf/ecp_455_en.pdfNamibia Statistics Agency (NSA) report (2014, p. 9),
Sharma, M. 2009. ‘Is Foreign Aid Helping or Hurting Africa?’ Http://www.globalenvision.org/2009/04/20/foreign-aid-helping-or-hurting-africaThoma, M. (2010). Frictional, structural, cyclical unemployment defined. Retrieved July 20, 2014, from http://econproph.com/2010/08/17/frictional-structural-cyclical-unemployment-defined/World Bank, “World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People”permanent dead link, 2004
.
APPENDIX 1
The Inspector – General
NAMPOL
Private Bag 12024
AUSSPANPLATZ
Windhoek
Dear Lt. Gen. S.H. Ndeitunga
PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
This letter kindly serves to inform you that I am currently completing a—————-at the Southern Business School. As part of the fulfilment of the course, I am conducting a research activity and the title of the thesis is: “Poverty and Unemployment as a Contributing Factor to Criminal Behaviour: A Case Study in Goreagab Dam settlement area”.
Part of my research activity is to administer questionnaires in order to collect information that will assist me in deriving findings, recommendations and conclusion at the end of the research activity. It is against above background that I am seeking permission to conduct this study at your esteemed institution.
The research is purely academic and information sought will be treated with utmost confidentiality and used for academic purposes only. No name of an individual police professional will be mentioned as a source of information.
I thank you in advance
Frans T Kadhikwa (Student at Southern Business School)
Student No……………….
APPENDIX 2
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear respondent
This study aims to collect information on Poverty and Unemployment as a Contributing Factor to Criminal Behaviour: A Case Study in Goreagab dam Settlement Area”.
Kindly answer all the questions in this questionnaire. Your honest responses will help to understand the concept under study and will assist the researcher to determine any shortcomings and areas which might require improvement in the issue of Poverty, Unemployment and crime in Namibia.
This research is purely academic and all responses will be treated confidential and individual anonymity will be safeguarded. Please do not write your name on any part of this questionnaire.
I thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.
PART1. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Occupational status ( tick where appropriate)
Unemployed residents
Living in poverty
A police officer (Rank:……………………..)
Councillor
NGOs
Trade Union
Gender (tick where appropriate)
Male
Female
Age category (tick where appropriate)
18 – 27
28 – 37
38– 47
48 and older
If unemployed, what is your duration of unemployment
1- 5 years
6- 10 year
11- 20 years
More than 21 years
Academic qualification (tick where appropriate)
Illiterate
Primary education
Secondary education
Technical/vocational education
College
University education
Marital status
Single
Married
PART 2 CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS (PLEASE CHOOSE HOW MUCH YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS)
2.1 Poverty and Unemployment are the contributing factor to criminal behaviour
(Strongly disagree)(Disagree) (Neither agree nor disagree) (Agree) (Strongly agree)
Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2.2 There is a relationship between poverty, unemployment and crime
(Strongly disagree)(Disagree) (Neither agree nor disagree) (Agree) (Strongly agree)
Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2.3 The increase in crime can result in a number of social problems
(Strongly disagree)(Disagree) (Neither agree nor disagree) (Agree) (Strongly agree)
Comments……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2.5 What types of crimes result from poverty and unemployment? (Tick in the appropriate box)
25050751397000Property crime
2495550952500Domestic violence
24765004762500Rape
2466975889000Assaults
24669752794000All of the above
2457450889000None of the above
Any other………………………………………….
2.6 What causes an increase in unemployment in Havana settlement? (Tick in the appropriate box
25146003810000Lack of education
2514600952500Migration
2514600889000Economic crisis
2524125889000Lack of technical skills
2543175889000All of the above
Any other………………………………………………………….
27. Is there any program/organisation that deals with unemployment in your community?
Yes
No
If yes, please specify…………………………………………….
2.8 If unemployed, what do you do for a living? (Tick in the appropriate box)
2505075889000Stay home doing nothing
25050753746500Do business
Any other…………………………………………………………..
PART 3: OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS (PLEASE EXPRESS YOUR SINCERE OPINION)
3.1. How do you feel when employed?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3.2 How do you feel when unemployed and living in poverty?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3.3 What will happen if poverty and unemployment are not dealt with immediately?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3.4 Why should poverty and unemployment be a great concern to everyone in the society?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION
