From left to right: Mr Salomo Hei, Managing Director, High Economic Intelligence & EAN Associate Member, Ms Helena Mboti, Group Economist, Standard Bank Namibia, Mr Jesaya Hano-Oshike, Vice-Chairperson, EAN, Mr Floris Bergh, Chief Economist, Capricorn Asset Management.
Economists have called on government leaders to ensure policy stability and clarity ahead of the upcoming national budget statement. These calls were made this week in Windhoek during a national pre-budget discussion co-hosted by the Capricorn Group, in collaboration with the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN), the Hanns Seidel Foundation Namibia, and the High Economic Intelligence (HEI).
During an engaging and insightful discussion, the experts warned that high levels of uncertainty could lead to reduced business investment.
“Investors want certainty. They don't want to hang mid-air. Investors want to know what they are signing up for," commented HEI managing director Salomo Hei during the discussion, which focused on key policy trade-offs.
According to Hei, the country's oil discoveries present a significant opportunity to boost the economy. “We must therefore try to use this as an opportunity to deal with our issues of high unemployment, high inequality and exclusive growth, and bring it into inclusive growth," he added.
Hei specifically referred to the proposed Namibia Investment Promotion and Facilitation Bill, which aims to modernise, promote, and regulate both foreign and domestic investment, replacing the 1999 Foreign Investment Act.
The Bill also emphasises sustainable development and job creation, introducing sector reservations and stringent investment approval processes.
On her part, Standard Bank group economist Helena Mboti said she wanted to see a greater focus on creating an entrepreneurial mindset in order to confront challenges such as high levels of youth unemployment. “The fiscal space is very tight, but we must spend. For me, the most critical trade-off is how we manage expenditure," she said.
“The key things will be education and creating an entrepreneurial mindset so we can create more jobs. I have noticed that in the last budget, the finance minister focused a lot on youth unemployment and was more inclined to give people initial experience through internships. The country needs more CEOs and not more interns. Because one CEO can create many permanent jobs, I think ensuring the minister can do that without straining the fiscal budget would be the key for this budget for me," she said.
Jesaya Hano-Oshike, deputy chairperson of the EAN, called for a balanced budget that also addresses concerns about capital project implementation.
“How do we get employment right in Namibia. Are we employing more people, or are we going to give more money to capital projects to grow the economy? Even with capital projects, we have heard that implementation is very poor. One of the biggest trade-offs the government had to make was to make sure that we have enough money for capital projects and at the same time ensuring that you can meet your civil servants' budget," he said.
Capricorn Asset Management chief economist Floris Bergh, who was also one of the panellists, said: “What we have heard over the last fiscal year, we really have a tight situation in the capital markets with respect to government finances, and with specifically the deficit and what was needed to fund the deficit and maturities. We have to get a trade-off between fiscal sustainability and the big promises and the big plans that sound very good. We also need to have in terms of the trade-offs - what I would like to hear from the minister and the administration in general - is a very keen awareness of the available resources," he said.
While offering reflections on the event, Capricorn Group CEO David Nuyoma called on the authorities to address implementation gaps in government policies.
