All People’s Party (APP) Member of Parliament, Erastus Shuumbwa has said his party is concerned about Namibia’s increasing debt and debt interest repayments.
Shuumbwa made the remarks in Parliament on Tuesday while contributing to the discussions on the 2022/23 Mid-Year Budget Review.
Last month while delivering the Mid-Year Budget Review in the National Assembly, Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi said debt servicing costs continue to trend above a desired benchmark of 10 per cent of revenue, which adds further impetus to the call to stabilise the pace of debt accumulation.
According to Shiimi the public debt stock is expected to increase to N.dollars 138.4 billion, equivalent to 69.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2022/23.
He said over the Mid Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), the pace of debt accumulation is projected to peak in the next financial year, resulting in a stabilisation of the debt ratios over the remainder of the MTEF as nominal GDP growth outpace debt growth.
“The projected borrowing to meet government spending is just unsustainable. The country cannot continue to be subjected to high debt to maintain government mismanagement of public resources by a few individuals at the expense of the nation,” Shuumbwa said.
This, he said, will create future problems for Namibia’s credit ratings.
The member of parliament called on government to seriously address public mismanagement of resources if the country is to curb public debt.
“We cannot be borrowing money that ends up misappropriated with no one held accountable, while the nation is subjected to repaying borrowed loans where they have no say,” he stated.
Shuumbwa said his party is worried about the country’s finances, the global economic landscape, the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the inflation affecting many local households.
He noted that increased borrowing is not something that should be taken lightly as it will have serious implications on future generations to repay these debts.
Shiimi said the government will focus on maintaining a positive primary budget balance over the medium term and continue working in close collaboration with the private sector to diversify the economy and create new engines of growth.
Source: The Namibian News Agency
