Most Namibian families can not own land!
Sixty-four percent or two out of three Namibian families can not own the land on which they live. The figure of 64% is based on data collected during the 2016 Inter-Censal Demographic Survey and 2011 Population & Housing Census. Thirty-eight percent of these families live in communal areas where the law forbids the ownership of […]
Crop farming on communal land: maximising production or minimising risk?
A fascinating thing about most livestock in communal areas is that they are not used for production, contrary to what western society expects (see the essay published in this column on 13 June). What about crops? What rules do crop farmers follow in communal areas? Agronomists generally assume that farmers seek to maximise production, which […]
The Business of Land Grabbing
Namibia has been complaining about land grabbing and illegal fencing ever since independence 28 years ago. There has been lots of talking, but nothing really has been done to solve the problem. This is not surprising because those who grabbed and fenced are mainly Namibia’s elites, a point made clear by Theodor Muduva in his […]
Upward pressure expected to remain as inflation continues to rise – New Era
WINDHOEK – Continuous upward pressure is expected on inflation, mostly owing to the rising fuel prices, the most recent of which was a 25 cents per litre increase in August, attributed to the adjustment of the fuel tax in August. Although international oil prices have eased slightly, the prevailing sentiment is that the depreciation of […]
Balanced policies needed to improve Namibia’s rating – New Era
WINDHOEK – Namibia needs smart policies that balance the need to address the major social challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, coupled with having to remain attractive to domestic and foreign investors, analysts and economists said this week. Such policies require a continuation of the close cooperation between the public and private sectors, which if […]
Latest Fitch rating a confirmation for continued consolidation – New Era
WINDHOEK – The latest assessment of the Namibian economy by international ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, on Monday affirmed a sub-investment grade rating of BB+ with a stable outlook. Local economists believe that this assessment is a confirmation for continued fiscal consolidation efforts, which have thus far been slow as government struggles to balance consolidation with […]
Namibia’s junk status remains – The Namibian
THERE is doubt that Namibia would regain a positive investment grading, following Fitch Ratings maintaining the country’s rating at junk status. Analysts said this is because the economy is still faced with hardships, from both the domestic and global front. In November last year, the ratings agency downgraded the country’s credit rating from BBB- to […]
National Accounts 2017 – Economic contraction slightly stronger
The Namibia Statistics Agency released the final National Accounts for 2017 on 15 August 2018. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted slightly stronger than estimated in the Preliminary National Accounts released in March 2018 – 0.9% rather than 0.8%. It is only the second drop in real GDP since Independence after a contraction by 1.6% in […]
July 2018 inflation rate – strongest increase so far this year
The Namibia Statistics Agency has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July 2018 on 15 August 2018. The CPI is being used to calculate the monthly (compared to the previous month) and year-on-year (compared to the same month last year) inflation rates. The annual inflation rate increased from 4.0% in June to 4.5% in […]
Fitch Ratings affirms Namibia sovereign rating at BB+
Fitch Ratings has released its latest assessment of Namibia on 13 August 2018. It affirms the rating at BB+ with a stable outlook. The main reasons for the decisions are: Government’s continuous commitment to fiscal consolidation although progress is slow since Government is trying to balance fiscal consolidation with supporting economic growth and addressing poverty […]