In Namibia’s mid-year budget review, the government forecast calls for the economy to grow 2.8 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2023, slightly lower than earlier forecasts of 2.9 percent and 3.7 percent.
The downward growth revisions reflect updated data from industrial surveys, especially on output from the mining sector and year-to-date performance. Meanwhile, the budget deficit is projected to be around 5.3 percent of GDP in the 2022/23 financial year compared to 5.6 percent estimated in the main budget in February.
Public debt as a percentage of GDP is forecast to increase from 69.6 percent in 2022-23 and peak in the next fiscal year. Referring to next year’s plans, the minister said that “the FY2023/24 fiscal strategy will centre on maintaining prudent expenditure management and promoting economic recovery. Accordingly, the government will focus on entrenching fiscal sustainability and stabilising the pace of debt accumulation.”
