The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has warned the government against using the country’s growing public debt to justify cuts to public servants’ salaries, saying Namibia’s fiscal crisis is a governance problem rather than simply a wage-bill problem.
IPC shadow minister of finance Michael Mwashindange said this on Tuesday, in response to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) latest assessment, which puts Namibia’s public debt at about 67.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of the 2024/25 financial year.
The IMF has warned that debt could rise to about 71% of GDP over the medium term under current policies and calls for reforms to moderate personnel expenditure, subsidies and transfers.
Mwashindange said the warning should not be dismissed as “just another international opinion”, but should instead be treated as a serious concern about the country’s fiscal direction.
He said fiscal discipline should not mean that teachers, nurses, police officers, soldiers and other public servants bear the cost of years of poor fiscal management.
“The real question is why Namibians are paying more taxes and receiving more public debt, yet seeing inadequate improvements in employment, public services and living standards,” he said.
Mwashindange said the government should instead address waste, duplication, inefficient procurement and poorly performing public enterprises while improving revenue collection.
He warned against indiscriminate job cuts, saying Namibia already faces high unemployment, particularly among young people.
He said future oil and gas revenues should not be used to justify further borrowing, but to reduce debt, build sovereign savings and invest in productive infrastructure.
“Namibia cannot borrow its way out of a fiscal crisis. The government must confront the debt and spending emergency,” he said.
