After much speculation about the upcoming tabling of the national budget, newly appointed finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi has confirmed the 2020/21 Appropriation Bill will be delayed until further notice.
In a statement issued on Friday, Shiimi said the delay was a direct result of the state of emergency declared by President Hage Geingob on 18 March 2020 as a measure to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19.
One of the measures relates to the limitation of gathering to a threshold of 10 persons or less. In line with this measure, the National Assembly, where the budget is tabled, is closed until further notice.
“Coincidentally, the tabling of the estimates of revenue, expenditure and income for the prospective financial year as required in Article 126 of the Namibian Constitution falls within the period of adjournment. To ensure that government services are not interrupted, the Minister of Finance will apply section nine of the State Finance Act, Act 31 of 1991, which provides for a continuation authorisation (utilisation of an amount not exceeding 33% of the appropriation for the preceding financial year), pending the passing of the Appropriation Act by parliament,” read the statement by Shiimi.
Meanwhile, the finance ministry has requested all government entities to abide by the continuation of authorisation procedures and to continue applying prudent public finance management measures during the state of emergency and beyond.