Namibia’s fiscal policy at a crossroads
The Namibian economy is at a difficult juncture when it comes to its fiscal policy since the country’s independence in 1990, which has seen government debt and deficit levels rise significantly over the years reaching critical levels of 50% of the gross domestic product (GDP) exacerbated by weak economic recovery. Economic experts have been pressuring […]
Budget delay raises suspicions
Delays in tabling the 2019/20 national budget have raised suspicions amongst economists, who strongly suspect that the economy might be in turmoil than widely thought. Executive Assistant to the Finance Minister, Esau Mbako, confirmed on Thursday that the tabling of the 2019/20 fiscal year budget has been postponed to the 27th of March, the second […]
Consumption to economic growth dips
THE contribution of household consumption to economic growth declined to -4% in 2017, from a positive growth of 6% in 2016, according to statistics provided by the Namibia Statistics Agency. The annual national accounts’ report by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) showed that in 2017, private households’ consumption amounted to approximately N$121 million each for […]
No Fuel Hikes for March
MINES and energy minister Tom Alweendo last Friday announced that fuel prices will remain. The prices at Walvis Bay will be N$12,05 per litre for petrol and N$13,13 per litre for diesel for the month of March. This is the third consecutive month that the ministry has kept fuel prices unchanged, with the minister saying […]
Budget needs to address civil service and budget deficit
With the date of the tabling of the national budget confirmed for Wednesday, 13 March, 2019, economists have pointed out the bloated wage bill, under-performing public enterprises, including a review of the public sector, and the budget deficit as some of the most crucial aspects that Finance Minister, Calle Schlettwein, needs to address. “Natural attrition […]
Namibian businesses – Quo vadis?
The economic slowdown does not only take its toll on the labour market, but also on the business landscape – businesses are closing down. However, it is not only the economic contraction that results in business closures. Other reasons might include retirement and lack of successors, policy uncertainty and bureaucracy, etc. why well-established small and […]
Inflation pushes up food prices: EAN
WINDHOEK, 17 FEB (NAMPA) – Consumers have been paying more for food and non-alcoholic beverages as prices continued the upward trend, owing largely to the high inflation rate in January compared to December 2018. This observation was made by the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN) in its review of the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) […]
January 2019 inflation rate – downward trend continues
The Namibia Statistics Agency has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January 2019 on 14 February 2019. The CPI is being used to calculate the month-on-month (compared to the previous month) and year-on-year (compared to the same month in the previous year) inflation rates. The annual inflation rate dropped further to 4.7% in January […]
What lies ahead of us?
The New Year is not so new anymore; more than a month has passed already. The global challenges of 2018 have not vanished with the end of last year, but continue not only to dominate international headlines, but to negatively impact on global economic prospects. Neither is there an end in sight in the trade […]
Stable fuel prices for February 2019 – another welcome relief
The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) announced on 31 January 2019 that fuel prices will remain unchanged with effect of 6 February 2019 midnight. 95 Octane Unleaded Petrol will cost NAD12.05 per litre and Diesel 50ppm NAD13.13 per litre at Walvis Bay and NAD12.47 and NAD13.56 respectively in Windhoek. A brief analysis: Average monthly […]