Swapo lawmaker Tobie Aupindi said Namibia must urgently reduce its economic dependence on the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenue, calling the current reliance unsustainable and dangerous. 

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, he raised alarm over the heavy dependence on SACU receipts, which make up a significant portion of Namibia’s national income. 

He cautioned that external factors could threaten this revenue stream, with severe consequences for the country’s fiscal stability. 

The Swapo backbencher said there is a need to review the SACU agreement in order to bring about equity and fairness. 

“Our over-reliance on SACU receipts is not sustainable – and frankly speaking, it is dangerous. These funds can disappear at the stroke of a pen or due to decisions made elsewhere,” Aupindi added. 

“The reduction in SACU receipts with N$6.9 billion, which is at N$21.1 billion, is worrisome but unavoidable. “Nevertheless, the nations of SACU are, to a large extent, experiencing a new form of neo-colonialism emanating from the lack of equity in terms of production and industrialisation, characterised by permanent innovation, often only one-sided,” Aupindi said. 

He added that the forms of neo-colonial production are making other SACU economies highly uncompetitive and creating an industrial development imbalance. 

“These innovative vanguard style of production is often confined to narrow vanguard of international economy, weakly connected to South Africa and the rest of humanity. The larger part of the labour force in other SACU countries are excluded from the mentioned vanguards,” the seasoned executive-turned-politician said. 

SACU, a customs union consisting of Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini redistributes revenue from customs and excise duties among its members. 

“What we need is to disseminate these advanced practices to a large part of the SACU economy to bring about equity and fairness. So, the SACU agreement must be reviewed,” he stressed. 

He pointed out that shifts in trade policy, global economic changes or decisions by larger SACU member states, such as South Africa, could significantly reduce Namibia’s share without warning. 

Aupindi urged the government to diversify its revenue base and invest in homegrown economic development. 

He stressed the need to expand Namibia’s manufacturing capacity, promote value addition and stimulate local industries. 

“The only way to truly safeguard our economic sovereignty is to grow our domestic economy and stop leaning so heavily on customs revenues,” he said. 

He proposed that Parliament and the finance ministry develop a clear roadmap to gradually reduce Namibia’s fiscal reliance on SACU, encouraging strategic investments in productive sectors like agriculture, tourism and green energy. 

Empowerment 

The MP also touched on the issue of youth empowerment, saying he is excited about one of the budget policy pillars, which is the specific provision to address youth empowerment. 

“The most important pillar in any economy is a multitude of small and medium-size businesses. Most of these businesses are owned by young people, but are pushed back to relatively primitive production,” he said. 

Aupindi added that what needs to be done is to give SMEs access to advanced productive practices and supply chains. 

“Because by leaving this to competitive market forces, free market capitalists will just not allow the SMEs into the supply chain.” -ljason@nepc.com.na