Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698747762584.pdf (Namibia)
Budget Review and Response SWANU of Namibia Version/Perspective April 9, 2019 Parliament Chambers By: Tangeni Cornelius Kakweno Iijambo - President: SWANU of Namibia def~ I rise to give 'my modest contribution Thank you very much Honorable Speaker.

Honorable Members of the assembly, on behalf of our party fellow Namibians, SWANU of Namibia to the Appropriation Bill.
Let me start by thanking the Honorable .Minister of Finance Mr. Calle Schlettwein for having tabled the 2019 - 2020· which some quarters refer to as a pro growth or developmental budget.

This the country is in a crisis which now needs to be budget described as a depression.'
The economy gradually declined especially from 2015 onward and Namibia experienced economic decline in 2017 and 2018. is tabled at a time that that it is therefore, socio-economic fellow Namibians, if not unpredictable Honorable Members, climatic conditions, we ought falls on our soil.

Consequently, time for HonOrab~aker, conditions as well as business unusual.
Being aware of our country's to have been prepared the harsh, including the need to harvest every drop for dealing with challenging circumstances, the water sipping through from the of water Cuvelai water system deserves to be properly harvested and stored for alternative usage.

Some may be baffled as to how water is connected or linked to the budget.

Water is fundamentally crucial factor to any development.
As one presenter during a recent budget review meeting remarked "the budget was expected to be more on water, electricity, oil and gas".

Several countries with desert climates desalinate the therefore, be ocean and tame their deserts by "greening" them.

Any budget must geared towards the better usage of water resources to eventually benefit the Namibian people.

~~fI fellow Namibians, Honorable ~ Speaker, Honorable Members, development budget was increased by 42% to boost economic growth.
Since the country is in a depression, the perhaps pivotal question to ask is which capital projects the government envisages to re-ignite socio-economic development?

Not all infrastructure to ask the Hon Minister of Finance to elaborate on the development projects that are rhetoric be envisaged during this budget period.

Secondly, how can all the budget translated into tangible realities?

specific priorities are and to direct expenditure accordingly.
automatically have positive spin-offs and thus I want It is worth knowing what our country's investments 2019/2020 the should systematically ensure that the That way, the budget greatest possible developmental impact.

Meeting the basic needs of the population needs to be the central focus of all our interventions and this should be based on well informed research.

its allocations support oJeru-!


:J of The the population fellow Namibians, it is high time that we Honorable(Speaker, Honorable Members, consume what we produce and produce what we need or want to consume.

national budget should direct developments along those lines.

Each imported item is enriching other economies while devaluing our own.

Our young people need jobs, and they are the ones hardest hit by they are the majority The entire population is hungry for job creation.

On page 5, the unemployment.


is; "as much about ensuring honorable Finance Minister macroeconomic recovery with jobs".

a visible mismatch between the budget allocation and the There is nevertheless, in terms of of experiences affirmative of work action, entry into the labor market due to the requirement experience and other hurdles.

There needs to be a concrete intervention to create a large number of additional if the honorable minister's objectives are to be realized.
<Je-pc.l- 't the budget is about supporting economic jobs in the public and private sectors The youth is marginalized stability as it the Namibian asserts youth.

that fellow Namibians, The public wage bill could be converted is the elephant is partly a result of our bloated government the unsustainable public Honorabl~Speaker, Honorable Members, structures.
Countries sector wage bill than ours have fewer ministries compared to ours and with much higher populations into directorates within key some of our many ministries in the room and the top-heavy ministries.

(SOEs) are consuming structures of many Ministries sector can in the public resources.

Cutting valuable to large-scale to resort significantly the wage reduce retrenchments.
Our government's the top levels of public institutions creates the danger of driving Namibia towards the structural adjustment programs of the Brettonwoods institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

This must be avoided by all means.

and State-Owned Enterprises the top-heavy structures having to downsize bill without refusal As per the Gini-Coefficient Namibia remains the second most unequal society in the world.
The inequalities of opportunity in education, income, health, employment and housing to mention a few are rampant and deserve redress.

These crises call for serious interventions which will require political will.
the three national Honorable Members, development fellow Namibians the wide expectation Honor~aker, agendas namely vision 2030, National was that Development Plan NDP 5 and Harambee Prosperity Plan HPP would synchronize with the developmental Ironically, either by design or by default none of them feature anywhere in this budget.

budget.

2 ckptt~ in an economy.

Honorablel\Speaker, Honorable Members, fellow Namibians, corruption does a lot of harm and damage to the nation.
The Finance Minister indicated that "corruption is the evil that touches almost every aspect It is one of the most immoral benefits the few and, harms the many".

causes for inequality as it disproportionally Namibia has lost billions of dollars through corruption in various realms, despite the institution of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

We must have allowed looters of the to determine our fate.
Some of the country's monies are stashed state with impunity, in off shore accounts of the elite hence, does not circulate in the country causing injustice and inequality.

Perhaps the remedy is to strengthen the more poverty, social that can only succeed if the entity does NOT owe mandate of the ACC.

However, allegiance to the powers that be.

The minister of finance concluded his budget speech by stating that "we must not only approve the proposals.

We must implement them prudently and timely.


We must do that honestly, diligently with the common good as our only objective in mind".

providing colonizers, on former Honorable Members, on foreign investors The rhetoric of a mixed economy in Namibia forms for other and communal ventures HOnOra~aker, fellow Namibians, my final contribution hinges on self-reliance.

Once more without strong political will, we are bound to be and on emerging new dependent superpowers.

The is misleading.
The is misleading.

ideology of capitalism underpins our economy and our budget fundamental political such as workers' without cooperatives the European Union passed a motion and unanimously supported a resolution to recognize and redress the atrocities done on Africa.
Yet, our leaders on the continent have not yet managed to concretely utilize such admissions and turn them into concrete initiatives because we sovereignties with weak are still characterized It is currencies, weak governance therefore in a regional and continental context to overcome the legacies of colonialism which still characterize our economic structures.

of economic activities in rural areas.

Recently, structures and destructive xenophobic violence.
time to place our national fake and divisive by sometimes development strategies All in all, we receive the budget with mixed feelings.

There are undoubtedly some good intentions but there is no concrete indication of how it will redress our burning in the years to come.

We need to rethink our approach socio-economic towards development to achieve social and economic justice.

innovation and a commitment based on research, challenges I thank you.

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