Economy grows 1% in 2016
The slow performance of the economy is attributed to the secondary and tertiary industries.
OGONE TLHAGE
Growth figures released by the Namibia Statistics Agency this week showed that Namibia registered growth of 1.1% for 2016. This comes off the back of contractions witnessed in both the tertiary and secondary industries, the NSA noted.
“This slow growth of 1.1 percent during 2016 is coming from a backdrop of a much stronger growth of 6% recorded in 2015. The slow performance is attributed to the secondary and tertiary industries that recorded a contraction in real value added of 7.8% and a slow growth of 3.9%, respectively,” the NSA said following the release of the growth numbers for 2016.
The slowdown in the construction sector was most noticeable, registering sharp declines in value addition in 2016.
“The drop in the secondary industries is due to the construction sector that recorded a decline in real value added of 26.5% in 2016 compared to a robust growth of 26% in 2015. The real value for construction works by general government slowed to 5.6% in 2016 from a growth of 31% recorded in 2015,” the NSA said.
“The slow growth recorded in the tertiary industries is attributed to the following sectors that have slowed, namely; wholesale and retail (3.4%), hotels and restaurants (5.1%), real estate and business services (2.5%), public administration and defence (3.3%), education (3.5%) and health (10.5%),” added the NSA.
According to the agency, the recovery in the primary industries was led by the agriculture sector, specifically the livestock farming subsector that recorded a growth in real value added of 2.3% in 2016, following a decline of 13.3% registered in 2015. Furthermore, a recovery was also witnessed in the crop farming and forestry subsector that recorded a decline of 1.2% compared to a deeper contraction of 6.6% registered in 2015.
Meanwhile, University of Namibia academic Omu Kakujaha-Matundu this week told Namibian Sun that it would take a number of years to get out of the current economic slump.
“Look at the state-owned enterprises that are planning to lay off their workers. If they do it then we will definitely see an increase in the unemployment rate,” said Kakujaha-Matundu.
According to him, more retrenchments are highly likely.
“When you look at the public sector as one of the main sectors in the economy which in the face of the current fiscal consolidation cannot afford to spend any more, most companies will not be able to benefit from government tenders anymore,” he said.
The Bank of Namibia had previously said that it expects a slight recovery for the current year, anticipating growth of around 2.1% for 2017.
“The domestic economy is projected to register a moderate growth rate in 2017 before rising further in 2018. Namibia’s real gross domestic product growth is projected to recover to 2.1% in 2017 before improving to 3.8% in 2018,” the central bank said last month.
Growth figures released by the Namibia Statistics Agency this week showed that Namibia registered growth of 1.1% for 2016. This comes off the back of contractions witnessed in both the tertiary and secondary industries, the NSA noted.
“This slow growth of 1.1 percent during 2016 is coming from a backdrop of a much stronger growth of 6% recorded in 2015. The slow performance is attributed to the secondary and tertiary industries that recorded a contraction in real value added of 7.8% and a slow growth of 3.9%, respectively,” the NSA said following the release of the growth numbers for 2016.
The slowdown in the construction sector was most noticeable, registering sharp declines in value addition in 2016.
“The drop in the secondary industries is due to the construction sector that recorded a decline in real value added of 26.5% in 2016 compared to a robust growth of 26% in 2015. The real value for construction works by general government slowed to 5.6% in 2016 from a growth of 31% recorded in 2015,” the NSA said.
“The slow growth recorded in the tertiary industries is attributed to the following sectors that have slowed, namely; wholesale and retail (3.4%), hotels and restaurants (5.1%), real estate and business services (2.5%), public administration and defence (3.3%), education (3.5%) and health (10.5%),” added the NSA.
According to the agency, the recovery in the primary industries was led by the agriculture sector, specifically the livestock farming subsector that recorded a growth in real value added of 2.3% in 2016, following a decline of 13.3% registered in 2015. Furthermore, a recovery was also witnessed in the crop farming and forestry subsector that recorded a decline of 1.2% compared to a deeper contraction of 6.6% registered in 2015.
Meanwhile, University of Namibia academic Omu Kakujaha-Matundu this week told Namibian Sun that it would take a number of years to get out of the current economic slump.
“Look at the state-owned enterprises that are planning to lay off their workers. If they do it then we will definitely see an increase in the unemployment rate,” said Kakujaha-Matundu.
According to him, more retrenchments are highly likely.
“When you look at the public sector as one of the main sectors in the economy which in the face of the current fiscal consolidation cannot afford to spend any more, most companies will not be able to benefit from government tenders anymore,” he said.
The Bank of Namibia had previously said that it expects a slight recovery for the current year, anticipating growth of around 2.1% for 2017.
“The domestic economy is projected to register a moderate growth rate in 2017 before rising further in 2018. Namibia’s real gross domestic product growth is projected to recover to 2.1% in 2017 before improving to 3.8% in 2018,” the central bank said last month.
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