Budget discussions continue in parliament

Members of the National Assembly are continuing to scrutinise the 2025/26 appropriation bill, with some arguing that the multibillion-dollar budget fails to meet the needs of the average Namibian.

In his contribution to the budget debate on Tuesday, Mathieas Mbundu of the Republican Party said his party would partially support the budget, which he claimed failed to address the bread-and-butter issues.

He said the budget does not demonstrate how the government plans to benefit from natural resources or address the skills gap and create employment.

“We can’t expect to confront the current crisis of unemployment without looking at the skills and knowledge gap existing in the education sector. Most graduates end up jobless or over-skilled because our existing job market can’t absorb them. So, it brings back the question of how our natural resources are benefiting the unemployed, both literate and illiterate citizens,” the opposition lawmaker queried.

Elvis Lizazi of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) called for meaningful budget allocation towards strengthening community courts. Lizazi, who is IPC’s shadow minister of justice and labour relations, emphasised the need to train community court clerks and increase the N$1 000 monthly allowance they receive.

“By doing so, we validate the role of customary justice while ensuring it aligns with constitutional values,” he said, while also calling for more funds for mobile legal clinics to offer legal services in rural areas.

Although she commended the minister of finance and social grants management, Ericah Shafudah, for tabling the N$106.3 billion budget, Fenni Nanyeni of Swapo expressed concern over the large amount allocated to servicing sovereign debt.

An allocation of N$79.8 billion is designated for operational expenditure, while N$13.7 billion is allocated for debt servicing, and N$12.8 billion is set aside for development expenditure.

“That means only 12% of our budget goes to building the roads, schools, hospitals, water, electricity and rural infrastructure that our people need most,” she said.

“While the rise in development budget allocations is notable and I commend the minister for that, we must not ignore the widening gap between our consumption, what we owe and what we build. For the third year running, our development vote is still lagging behind both operational expenses and debt servicing.”