Business

Namibia’s debt is projected to increase to N$117 billion, or almost 69% of GDP, while revenue will be down 14.3% compared to previous estimates for the 2020/21 financial year.

Following the first confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Namibia, the Chamber of Mines in Namibia cancelled its annual Mining Expo & Conference for 2020.

FNB, through the FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust, has handed over a monetary contribution of N$1.5 million to the government in response to Covid-19 mitigation efforts.

Following the global release of the “2020 Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands on Africa Day”, Brand Africa, in partnership with TBWAParagon, announced Namibia’s rankings of the most admired brands. International sport and lifestyle brand Nike is the most admired brand overall, while local telecommunications giant MTC was named the most admired local brand. 

Many Namibians are eagerly anticipating the lifting of the alcohol ban as the country, except Walvis bay, moves to stage 3 of the lockdown exit strategy for the next 28 days. As Namibians navigate the country’s gradual reopening, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) managing director Marco Wenk said there’s no doubt Covid-19 will have a lasting impact on society long after the current state of emergency and the risks associated with the pandemic are over.

Merriam-Webster defines a crisis as “an unstable or difficult time or state of affairs”. It is unplanned or uncontrolled change. During times of crisis, leadership is critical. While the existing economic crisis caused by Covid-19 is unprecedented, small businesses have historically proved themselves to be flexible and resilient.

Economic experts opined that the national budget, including the growing budget deficit, were in line with expectations, but agreed that the current financial situation could not only be attributed to the Covid-19 health crisis. This is because the domestic economy had already contracted during three out of the past four years while policy frameworks to attract domestic and foreign direct investment has not been conducive.

In an effort to maintain price stability in domestic fuel market, the price of fuel stay untouched.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has, through its monthly fuel price review, resolved to keep fuel pump prices unchanged countrywide for the month of June 2020.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the direction of government’s fiscal policy from fiscal consolidation to mitigation of the spread and impacts of the virus in the country. Additional expenditure has been considered to provide for the fight against Covid-19, increasing the already high government spending, while revenue is expected to fall to the lowest level. 

The Namibian economy is projected to contract by 6.6% in real terms during the 2020/21 financial year. Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi on Wednesday cautioned that this contraction may linger on well into 2021 at a moderate rate of 1.1%, with the new normal average growth rates of between 2.0 and 3.6% in 2022 and beyond.