Esparanza Luvindao
By Vitalio Angula
At a workshop on tobacco and alcohol control policies in Windhoek last year, Namibia’s Minister of Health and Social Services, Esperanza Luvindao, proposed raising taxes and prices on tobacco and alcohol as a deterrent to reduce consumption.
Luvindao argued that the harmful use of these substances places a heavy burden on the health system and contributes significantly to preventable illness and death.
“It is clear that further deterrent actions are required, particularly in the area of tax reform to discourage the consumption of these products,” she said.
While alcohol and tobacco undeniably add to the public health burden—fuelling non-communicable diseases, accidents, and avoidable injuries—the question remains: does increasing taxes truly reduce consumption, or does it push Namibian households, already struggling with the high cost of living, deeper into poverty?
A University of Namibia (UNAM) study by Laili Iipumbu, Investigating the Crowd-Out Effects of Tobacco and Alcohol Expenditure on Household Allocation in Namibia, found that tobacco and alcohol consumption not only harms health but also drains household disposable income, reducing spending on essentials such as food, healthcare, clothing, and recreation.
Iipumbu’s research shows that in low- and middle-income countries like Namibia, higher alcohol prices increase the financial burden on poor households and exacerbate inequality—especially when not paired with social protections such as rehabilitation centres or subsidies for healthier alternatives.
Luvindao’s Globalist Agenda
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which Luvindao appears to prioritise over the concerns of Namibians, promotes its SAFER policy, claiming that raising alcohol prices through excise taxes is a proven measure to reduce harmful use. WHO argues that such taxes also generate government revenue to offset the economic costs of alcohol-related harm.
International research by Frank J. Chaloupka, Alexander Wagenaar, Markus Gehrsitz, and Michael Grossman demonstrates that higher taxes reduce consumption in Europe, Canada, the UK, and other high-income countries.
Yet Luvindao, appointed by President Netumbo Ndaitwah rather than elected by the people, leans on these foreign experts and WHO guidance to push policies that ignore Namibia’s socio-economic realities.
Her proposal illustrates how global health policies often collide with local economic conditions.
According to Namibia’s statistics authorities, households spend an average of 7–8% of their monthly income on alcohol, with poorer households in informal communities spending up to 15%.
For wealthier families, a N$27 beer is negligible; for poorer households, that same N$27 can mean less food, transport, or school money for children.
Economically, alcohol and tobacco are considered inelastic goods—meaning higher prices should reduce demand. Socially, however, the burden falls disproportionately on the poor, while the benefits of taxation remain uneven.
Decisions on taxation and household budgets made without democratic debate risk allowing sovereign states to be dictated by globalist agendas that fail to serve local communities.
Since her appointment, Luvindao has unsettled the Namibian public. Though trained as a medical doctor, her public health credentials have been questioned by experts who doubt her competence to lead such a critical ministry.
Her stance on alcohol and tobacco taxation underscores a lack of insight into the realities faced by ordinary Namibians.
- Vitalio Angula is a socio-political commentator and independent columnist.
