Namibia Economic Outlook 2020 Public Discussion: Presentation
Solar energy not a cheaper alternative to conventional power: Brown
WINDHOEK, 05 SEP (NAMPA) General Manager of the Renewable Energy Industry Association of Namibia (REIAoN), Harald Schütt has expressed dissatisfaction at regulation that limits independent renewable energy producers from feeding their excess supply to the national grid. Schütt on Wednesday at the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) panel discussion on Recovering from the economic downturn […]
African countries challenged to create value chains
Renowned Namibian economist of the Economic Association of Namibia, Klaus Schade, has thrown his weight behind growing debate that diamond producing countries in Africa need to create sustainable value chains from their resources that will in turn be conveyor belts for employment creation. Schade concurs that such a move will boost revenue generation for African […]
Five Years On, Economic Association Has Made an Indelible Mark, Enjoys Extensive Corporate Support
The Economic Association has just received funding from an institutional supporter to help it develop capacity and to cover administrative costs. The association’s chairperson, Rowland Brown said most of their funding goes to specific projects leaving very little for growing their structure. “Despite the lean cost structure of the association, we face continuous challenges with […]
The AfCFTA came into force
At an extraordinary African Union meeting in Kigali on 21 March 2018 44 out of 55 African states signed the African Free Trade Area agreement. After 22 of member states have deposited their instruments of ratification with the African Union Commission on 29 April 2019 the AfCFTA came into force 30 days later with meanwhile […]
Central Procurement Board must prioritise local businesses to create jobs
WINDHOEK – It is imperative that financial resources allocated in the national budget circulate in the domestic economy, as more money spent locally will have a greater impact on economic growth and job creation. This is according to a local economist, Klaus Schade, who feels the Central Procurement Board has to ensure that preference is […]
Loud silence as Harambee turned three
The Harambee Prosperity Plan – launched in 2016 – turned three years old on 1 April 2019. The Presidency could however not respond to questions regarding the progress of the plan saying a progress report will form part of the upcoming State of Nation Address. The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is an annual […]
BoN not worried about SARB nationalisation
Central bank deputy governor, Ebson Uanguta has said that the bank is not worried about calls by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa to nationalise the partly private owned South African Reserve Bank despite the economic link between South Africa and Namibia. Speaking at the side-lines of the monetary policy announcement this week, Uanguta said the […]
Of tax-free allowances and inequality – Klaus Schade
Sometimes, well-meant interventions have unintended consequences. One case in point are tax-free allowances, such as tax-free housing allowances, tax-free car allowances, tax-free pension fund contributions, etc. Namibia has a progressive income tax system with marginal tax rates rising with increased taxable income. This, however, results in tax-free allowances being regressive meaning that the better off […]
Doubling Psemas fees will impact lower earners harder – Schade
During the tabling of the national budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Calle Schlettwein announced that the member’s contribution to the Public Service Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas), which has for long been static, will be doubled to bring the total contribution from the current N$410 million to N$820 million, effective April 2019. However, an economic analyst […]