Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda says the global tariff uproar started by United States (US) president Donald Trump dims any hope of economic recovery for Namibia.
He said this while recently contributing to the 2025/26 national budget in the National Assembly.
Kaaronda said the prospect of economic growth is increasingly out of reach, which begs the question as to whether there are any fresh negotiations between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US.
“If this happens, it will naturally reduce Sacu’s revenue pool, which in turn will affect what Namibia gets from the pool. Has this eventuality been factored into the budget?” the former union leader asked.
Kaaronda said the country’s export earnings would most certainly be negatively affected, which in turn would affect tax collection.
“There are strong predictions of an imminent global recession, which will invariably slow down the projected growth as stated in the budget statement,” he said.
He asked minister of finance and social grants management Ericah Shafudah to explain whether these projections are still solid.
“If the predictions are not there, are there any plans in place to finance the operational expenditure and the development projects?
“How does this play out on public debt servicing?” Kaaronda asked.
The parliamentarian said there is already a decrease in Sacu revenue for the current financial year, yet there seems to be an unhealthy overreliance on Sacu receipts to fund the national budget.
Kaaronda asked whether this is sustainable, particularly over the medium to long term.
On the expenditure budget, Kaaronda said that of the N$106-billion budget, N$79.8 billion is allocated to the wage bill and subsistence allowance.
“It is disheartening to note that this practice, which has persisted for 35 years, doesn’t match overall public sector productivity.
To help deal with the persistent problem of productivity, we feel compelled to moot the idea of establishing a national productivity centre as a matter of urgency,” he said.
The Swanu leader referred to countries such as Botswana, Kenya, and Singapore, which have long established such centres.
“We must adopt a culture of getting value for our dollars and eliminate wastage,” he proposed.
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