WINDHOEK, (The Southern African Times) – Namibia’s President Hage Geingob on Thursday said there was a need to stabilize the country’s fiscal position in order to reduce economic scarring caused by the effects of COVID-19.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day cabinet retreat, Geingob said Namibia would administer fiscal and monetary interventions to revive the economy.
“Our economy has plunged into the deepest recession since independence. As we craft a set of interventions with ambitions to induce a recovery, it is imperative to bear in mind that this can only be achieved through a holistic approach,” he said.
He added that it was only once these preliminary steps had been taken to stabilize the country’s fiscal position, that the country can begin to craft and implement a transformative portfolio of policy interventions.
According to the president, Namibia has so far injected 1.3 billion Namibian dollars (85 million U.S. dollars) plus into the health sector accompanied by 8.1 billion Namibian dollars stimulus package and the 500 million Namibian dollars SME loan scheme to help the economy recover.
Namibia’s economy is forecasted to contract by 7.8 percent in 2020 before recovering to positive growth of 2.1 and 2.7 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the central bank has projected.
