PDM argues budget not ‘pro-growth’

Jemima BeukesWINDHOEKPopular Democratic Movement (PDM) treasurer Nico Smit has urged government to cease deploying political rhetoric while poverty-stricken Namibians live in shacks and are forced to raise children in inhumane conditions.He said he was surprised to hear finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi describe the national budget as pro-growth.“Your only concern is to line your own pockets and, by proxy, those of other crooks who will help you relieve the government of money that actually belongs to the Namibian people,” Smit claimed.“The budget is neither pro-sustainability, nor pro-poor, and definitely not pro-growth; these are just various forms of rhetoric,” he argued.He added: “Poor people have suffered while they listen to government’s drivel, but they remain poor, and nothing government does changes the painful fact of their pervasive poverty. The pain of living in a ghetto, which we softly call an informal settlement, and eating from rubbish dumps remains.”Hurdles hamper progressHe warned that Namibia will fail to deliver prosperity to its people for as long as businesses face excessive bureaucratic red tape, which makes it difficult for the private sector to create jobs and stimulate economic activity. According to Smit, government has followed a flawed investment strategy where businesses were paid for services they did not render and nothing of significant value was created.“When you talk to business leaders in the private sector, they will typically tell you that growth depends on investment and productivity. If a company does not invest in the people, equipment and material that it needs to generate either a product or a service, not to mention a profit, then the company will not last very long,” he cautioned.Smit said if any or all of the necessary tools for investment are skewed, growth does not and cannot happen.He also underlined that for a company to invest, it must have access to credit.jemima@namibiansun.com

PDM argues budget not ‘pro-growth’

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-10

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PDM argues budget not ‘pro-growth’

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-10

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