President Hage Geingob thanked the former finance minister Calle Schlettwein for implementing fiscal consolidation measures, saying the green shoots of recovery are visible.

“I would like to thank the former Minister of Finance, Comrade Calle Schlettwein for implementing these difficult reforms to stabilise the fiscal position. Green shoots of recovery were becoming visible.

“Unfortunately, these prospects have been severely compromised by the outbreak of COVID-19. Comrade Calle, I am confident you will discharge your new mandate with the same vigour, to ensure food and water supply security, which are both very critical.”

Geingob admitted during his state of the nation address that the Namibian economy continues to experience unprecedented headwinds, since 2016 and faced several challenges.

Some of the challenges, he said, is the declining economic growth and per capita income, low investments and a high public expenditure ratio compounded by the global economic downturn, declining commodity prices and exchange rate fluctuations.

Geingob also said the five-year drought that ravaged our agricultural sector, exposed thousands of Namibian households to food insecurity, necessitating the reallocation of funding to the Drought Relief Programme.

Geingob said to stabilise our public finances, a fiscal consolidation strategy and expenditure prioritisation were introduced in 2015 and to contain expenditure Government effected the deepest cuts since independence.