Public debt stock is estimated to increase to N.dollars 150.9 billion or 70.1 per cent of Gross Domestic (GDP) before peaking in the coming financial year, Minister of Finance, Iipumbu Shiimi announced yesterday.

Tabling the 2023/2024 national budget in the National Assembly, Shiimi said the debt stock is still growing marginally above the growth in nominal GDP.

“We aim to gradually close this gap towards the end of the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF),” Shiimi said.

Furthermore, Shiimi said, the budget deficit is projected to decline to 4.2 per cent of GDP in the 2023/24 financial year, well in line with the fiscal policy stance established at mid-term.

The deficit of N.dollars 9.1 billion in 2023/24 will be financed through a combination of domestic debt instruments and funding from multilateral organisations.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency