National budget on track
Preliminary data indicates that the revised budget for 2016/17 was fully implemented.
Finance minister Calle Schlettwein says preliminary data indicates that the revised budget for 2016/17 was fully implemented with budget execution at about 100 percent while revenue came in at 99.6 percent.
Schlettwein told members of the public and the business community attending his 2017 state of the economy and mid-year budget review in Walvis Bay last week that the budget deficit was estimated at the revised level of 6.3 percent.
He said this was better than the 8.3 percent recorded for the previous year. Total debt stood at 41.9 percent which is generally in line with the median of upper income countries with similar characteristics than that of Namibia.
During the past four months of the financial year, budget revenue performed better with about 40 percent of targets collected against the historical average of 34 percent.
Government also decided to fast-track the payment of outstanding invoices on the basis of better budget revenue and other financing means such as the proceeds from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The minister stressed the fact that the loan facility from the AfDB was not an additional loan on top of the budget but rather a budget deficit financing mechanism to complement the domestic market and that it was realised at better competitive rates.
Given better revenue performance with a consolidated budgetary framework, government anticipate the budget deficit to hover waround the budgeted level of about 3.6 percent.
According to the minister the mid-year budget review is planned for October and the process has already commenced.
“Apart from the current moderate growth environment in the economy we are commencing with the mid-year budget review for 2017 which I intend tabling at the end of October. The review considers the internal allocative efficiencies within the budget. It also articulates policy proposals and structural reforms for the next budget,” he said.
OTIS FINCK
Schlettwein told members of the public and the business community attending his 2017 state of the economy and mid-year budget review in Walvis Bay last week that the budget deficit was estimated at the revised level of 6.3 percent.
He said this was better than the 8.3 percent recorded for the previous year. Total debt stood at 41.9 percent which is generally in line with the median of upper income countries with similar characteristics than that of Namibia.
During the past four months of the financial year, budget revenue performed better with about 40 percent of targets collected against the historical average of 34 percent.
Government also decided to fast-track the payment of outstanding invoices on the basis of better budget revenue and other financing means such as the proceeds from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The minister stressed the fact that the loan facility from the AfDB was not an additional loan on top of the budget but rather a budget deficit financing mechanism to complement the domestic market and that it was realised at better competitive rates.
Given better revenue performance with a consolidated budgetary framework, government anticipate the budget deficit to hover waround the budgeted level of about 3.6 percent.
According to the minister the mid-year budget review is planned for October and the process has already commenced.
“Apart from the current moderate growth environment in the economy we are commencing with the mid-year budget review for 2017 which I intend tabling at the end of October. The review considers the internal allocative efficiencies within the budget. It also articulates policy proposals and structural reforms for the next budget,” he said.
OTIS FINCK
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