Justicia Shipena
The vice chairperson of the Economic Association of Namibia (EAN), Jesaya Hano-Oshike, said the government must use procurement as a tool to build domestic manufacturing capacity.
Hano-Oshike said government spending can play a key role in supporting manufacturers and creating jobs.
“Right now Namibia is sitting at 44% youth unemployment, so government procurement perhaps is one of those levers that we can use to really help build our economy. We need more local procurement by the government in the manufacturing sector. Maybe looking at the preference for local manufacturers,” he said.
He said prioritising locally produced goods would strengthen domestic industries and expand employment opportunities.
“But if you are able to support local manufacturers who create local jobs, that is one way we can definitely decrease unemployment in the country, especially when you look at the GDP structure in this country, where you look at one of the largest contributors to GDP,” Hano-Oshike said during a public discussion on the 2026/2027 national budget on Tuesday.
The public dialogue was hosted by EAN in partnership with Capricorn Group and the Hanns Seidel Foundation Namibia and focused on policy choices, trade-offs and the country’s economic direction.
EAN chief executive officer Cons Karamata said the discussion aimed to unpack what could be expected from the upcoming budget.
“What can we expect from the minister? Will we see the recommendations proposed last year to address bottlenecks in public procurement reflected in her budget speech?” he asked.
He said the development budget, higher education and the Youth Development Fund are among the issues under review.
Managing director of High Economic Intelligence and an EAN associate member, Salomo Hei, addressed global, regional and domestic economic trends. He said growth must become more inclusive.
“We don’t have a growth problem; the reality is that our growth is not inclusive. It is important that this growth becomes inclusive and bigger and that it starts taking into account the greater participation of the population. For us to get to the inclusive growth we want to see, the structure of the Namibian economy needs to change,” he said.
Hei also pointed to the oil and gas sector as an opportunity.
“The oil and gas discoveries present opportunities; we must therefore try to use this as an opportunity to deal with our issues of high unemployment, high inequality, and exclusive growth that we have to try to bring into inclusive growth,” he added.
He stressed the need for policy certainty to attract investment.
“It is important for the policy setting to be around the investment promotion facilitation board. Without clear, persistent policies and governance, sectors struggle to attract and retain investment. Structural reforms and clarity in economic plans are crucial,” he noted.
Group Economist at Standard Bank Namibia, Helena Mboti, questioned whether tax incentives for venture capital unlock new investment.
“The banking sector’s cautious approach is due to high default risk and structural economic issues such as youth unemployment and low incomes. Therefore, we need to build a venture capital culture to support entrepreneurs, using national savings for riskier, long-term investment. Incentives like tax benefits should be measured for effectiveness, and more focus is needed on their uptake and conversion to permanent opportunities,” she said.
Chief economist at Capricorn Asset Management, Floris Bergh, discussed the challenges of funding public-private partnerships.
“Fund management operates based on members’ mandates, leading to a mismatch between available capital types and investment needs. Regulatory initiatives have pushed pension funds to invest in unlisted strata, offering structures for asset managers to handle such funds with defined mandates. Success has mainly come in funding smaller businesses in the unlisted space,” he said.
The discussion brought together economists, policymakers and business leaders to examine the trade-offs facing the government as it prepares the national budget.
