Institutional Strengthening for Public-Private Partnerships

Namibia - Institutional Strengthening for PPPs - Appraisal Report
 

Namibia’s economic performance in the last decade has been strong. The economy has remained relatively resilient during the global economic slowdown thanks to a stable macroeconomic policy environment and prudent fiscal management. Real GDP growth recovered strongly in 2010 from the impact of the global economic crisis, but moderated in 2012 despite the prevailing expansionary fiscal stance maintained by the government. Output growth slowed from about 5.75% in 2011 to 5% in 2012. Moderation in growth continued in the first half of 2013, reflecting weak global demand for exports, which more than offset the solid growth in the non-mineral sector, most notably in retail trade. The fiscal outturn in 2012/13 was significantly better than expected, the overall deficit was 0.3% compared to 3.9% projected in the original budget. This is mainly due to savings in capital spending driven by under execution of the government’s Targetted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (TIPEEG), and stronger than expected revenue performance (including receipts from SACU). In 2014, real GDP growth is projected at 5.4 percent up from 5.1 percent in 2013. The policy stance for the medium term is gradually returning to fiscal consolidation with the Government planning to maintain the budget deficit at 5% during 2014/15 and further narrow this to 3% of GDP during 2015/16 – 2016/17.