Chamwe Kaira
The government plans to spend more than N$758 million on military training and capacity building by the 2028/29 financial year as part of efforts to strengthen defence readiness.
Medium-term expenditure plans show that spending on the programme will increase over the coming years.
The allocation will rise from N$702.2 million in the revised 2025/26 budget to N$733.7 million in 2026/27, N$734.1 million in 2027/28 and N$758.4 million in 2028/29.
Most of the funding will go to personnel expenditure. This expenditure is expected to increase from N$586.2 million in 2025/26 to N$639.9 million by 2028/29.
Spending on goods and other services will increase from N$114.2 million to N$115.6 million during the same period.
Capital asset spending remains small but will rise from N$1.7 million in 2025/26 to N$2.9 million by 2028/29.
More than 1 705 recruits have already been trained under the programme.
The ministry aims to train 1 500 recruits each year during the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. No recruit intake is planned for the 2028/29 financial year under the current targets.
Training programmes are intended to prepare soldiers for combat duties, peacekeeping missions and emergency response operations.
The Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs is also investing in military healthcare services to support personnel.
The programme provides clinical care, counselling, medical testing, rehabilitation services and HIV and AIDS awareness.
Spending on military healthcare increased from N$99.2 million in the 2024/25 financial year to a revised N$105.3 million in 2025/26. Projections show spending rising to about N$106.9 million by 2028/29.
Personnel costs remain the largest part of the healthcare budget. These will increase from about N$87.9 million in 2024/25 to about N$89.6 million by 2028/29.
The government is also increasing spending on offshore defence operations.
Expenditure in this area was N$537 million in the 2024/25 financial year and increased to a revised N$585.5 million in 2025/26.
Personnel costs in the offshore defence programme are projected to reach N$464.98 million by 2028/29. Spending on goods and services is expected to reach N$118.16 million, while capital asset spending will be about N$2.4 million.
Caption
The government plans to increase spending on defence training and capacity building in the coming years.
- Photo: Contributed
