Zebaldt Ngaruka
National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) Member of Parliament (MP) Vetaruhe Kandorozu said the 2025/26 budget is not convincing as to where the country is heading, inspiring no confidence.
He said this last week in his contributions to the budget in Parliament.
He said the budget does not speak to the daily struggles of communal farmers, unemployed youth, overloaded teachers and forgotten pensioners.
“This is a budget to serve the privileged – not ordinary people. The last must be the first,” Kandorozu, the only Nudo MP, said.
He added that the government budget is a powerful tool that influences various aspects of a country’s economy.
The MP said the budget is central to fiscal policy, which involves government decisions on taxation, spending and borrowing.
“These decisions directly impact economic growth, inflation and employment,” Kandorozu noted.
He highlighted the composition of the budget, where the finance minister outlined the declining trends in total revenue in the coming financial year.
He outlined two primary revenue sources or streams, such as the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU) and income from the diamond companies that are declining for various reasons as noted by the finance minister.
However, Kandorozu said no proper mechanism or strategies are stated in the budget on how the government intends to close the gap.
“The gambling and rotary businesses remained untaxed because many of the government members own those machines. They don’t want to pay taxes, but the Namibia Revenue Agency is after the poor farmers,” he added.
Given the complicated nature of the SACU revenue-sharing formula and contribution to the pool, the MP said there is a need to discuss the current situation of local diamond companies.
“I understand the diamond industry faces headwinds, ranging from decreased consumer demand for natural diamonds to competition from lab-grown diamonds, thereby reducing the price for diamonds and affecting our production in the country,” said the former Okakarara constituency councillor.
Kandorozu said despite all these developments, the issue of the Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) theft cannot be left alone, regardless of the government’s decision not to brief the citizens on what transpired on that day and the way forward.
“I hope our Deputy Prime Minister, honourable Natangwe Ithete, will soon come up with a statement to tell the nation how much we lost at Namdia as a result of the stolen diamonds on that day of the heist, which have affected our budget today,” he said.
Kandorozu stressed that the budget’s success will depend on the government’s ability to navigate these complexities, and implement the silhouette strategies efficiently.
“I propose this budget to be corrected. This is not approved,” he asserted.