‘Budget for the people without the people’

Finance minister Ericah Shafudah yesterday tabled her second mid-term budget review under the theme ‘People, Productivity and Prudence’, but the people are nowhere to be found, critics say.

McHenry Venaani, president of the Popular Democratic Movement, yesterday said the budget does not address the needs of ordinary Namibians.

He said it fails to address the rising cost of living, inadequate housing and sanitation, and the financial pressures facing ordinary Namibians.

He questioned how borrowed money was being invested, arguing that the agriculture sector, one of the country’s major employers, was not receiving adequate support.

“The agriculture industry is inundated with the worst challenges, yet the government is spending more money on international relations [than on agriculture]. And agriculture is the greatest employer.

“The government should have walked the talk today. We’re not spending money on agriculture,” he said.

On housing and sanitation, Venaani called on ministers to visit Katutura and witness residents carrying water into their homes using jerry cans.

“We’re leaving people behind and telling them you can wait. How long can the shanty towns wait?” he asked.

However, minister of information and communication technology Emma Theofelus yesterday rose to defend the budget, saying Shafudah has made the best of a bad situation.

“Consider the balancing act the minister had to do: a budget that responds to the fiscal situation we are in, the ever-changing geo-political situation, and the objectives of the eighth administration,” she said.

Theofelus said the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), in addition to the expected super El Nino, have placed an additional burden on the government’s finances.

The minister criticised parliamentarians saying the budget does not address the people’s needs.

“[To the parliamentarians who say] this budget was supposed to respond to the cost of living: In fact, the budget responds to it, because it takes into account the changing market and the ability to manage a very difficult situation we find ourselves in.

“You cannot expect magic [from the minister],” Theofelus said.

Affirmative Repositioning leader Job Amupanda said while he has some concerns about the budget, he believes Shafudah’s approach deserves some praise.

“Generally, what you find with regards to the budget is that the minister is actually beginning to understand that there must be structural intervention in the economy: The economy must be managed,” he said.

“One of the things we are very happy [about] and congratulate her [for] is she was able, for instance, to say there is a problem with the Public Service Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas).

There’s a lot of leakage when it comes to Psemas,” he said.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Independent Patriots for Change shadow minister Michael Mwashindange questioned the value for money in the defence ministry’s N$200-million allocation in the mid-term budget.

He said the ministry needed adequate funding but must demonstrate results amid the country’s financial constraints.

“We need to fund the ministry adequately, but we must also be alive to the financial performance of the country,” he said.

Mwashindange questioned the ministry’s spending priorities, arguing that significant allocations had not translated into visible innovation, skills development or improved conditions for soldiers.

“All that money goes to personnel expenditure,” he said, adding that ordinary soldiers still lack proper uniforms.

On social welfare, he said tax amnesty was insufficient, calling for cheaper borrowing and affordable housing to ease pressure on ordinary Namibians.

“Borrowing is extremely expensive,” he said, urging the government to introduce measures that make loans more accessible, particularly to struggling public servants.

BIGGEST ALLOCATIONS

The proposed mid-term budget will reallocate N$685 million from non-performing projects and offices to other projects.

The biggest reallocations are N$200 million to the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs to fund rations and utilities.

This is followed by N$179 million for FMD containment, and N$180 million to the Office of the President.

N$40 million of the presidential budget is specifically allocated for the president’s security, which comes after her residence was trespassed in April.

The Ministry of Finance also proposed a supplementary budget of N$635 million, most of which will be used to finance Psemas funding shortfalls.

“The government will accelerate more reforms to Psemas, as the current model has been assessed to be fiscally unsustainable,” Shafudah said.

‘NOT ENOUGH FOR FMD’

Economist Almandro Jansen questions the N$179 million allocated to combat FMD, saying the funding appears inadequate given the scale of the outbreak.

“Foot-and-mouth disease received only N$179 million. Given the scale of the outbreak, we expected a little bit more,” he says.

Although Jansen described the budget review as disciplined for the current financial year, he warns that the government’s fiscal plan has weakened over the longer term.

‘NO MONEY’

According to Shafudah’s new budget, domestic growth has been revised downwards from 3.1% to 2.3%.

The minister yesterday said key risks for the economy are volatile prices for Namibia’s commodities, low demand for diamonds, high fuel prices, and the outbreak of FMD.

The government’s income from diamonds has dropped from N$5.8 billion three years ago to a mere N$414 million.

In total, revenue projections have dropped by N$1.5 billion for this year.

“In response to the constrained revenue outlook, total expenditure for the 2026/27 financial year has been revised downward by 0.9%, falling to N$105 billion in line with government fiscal consolidation priorities,” the mid-year budget book says.

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