Renthia Kaimbi
Pensioners will receive a N$100 increase in their monthly state pension from 1 April. This would raise the grant from N$1 600 to N$1 700.
Finance minister Ericah Shafudah announced the increase while delivering the 2026/27 national budget in the National Assembly on Thursday. She said N$447 million has been set aside to fund the adjustment.
“The Ministry of Finance received a N$12.9 billion allocation for the 2026/2027 financial year, of which N$447 million is to cater for a N$100 increase in pension (funding) for the elderly,” said Shafudah.
The increase falls short of President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election promise to raise the pension to N$3 000 which late president Hage Geingob also hoped for.
After taking office, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the full increase would be delayed to focus on youth employment and free tertiary education. The new budget confirms that decision.
Shafudah presented the budget under the theme “People, Productivity, Prudence”.
She said the government is working within a “constrained fiscal space, elevated debt levels, and a moderate but fragile economic recovery.”
The budget introduces the ninth medium-term expenditure Framework, aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline and prioritising social sector spending.
Total spending on the social sector stands at N$54.3 billion, or 61.7% of the national budget. The government spends about N$7 billion a year on social grants, with old-age pensions taking up nearly half of that amount.
More than 618 000 Namibians receive social grants, including over 200 000 pensioners.
Former finance executive director Michael Humavindu previously warned that increasing the pension to N$2 000 could raise the total social grants bill to almost N$9 billion, putting pressure on public finances.
Government debt is projected to reach N$217.3 billion by 2028/29. The Ministry of Finance has warned against rising spending levels.
Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani told the Windhoek Observer that the N$100 increase is “an insult to the promise of 3000 and negation of responsibility”.
The budget also allocates N$1.7 billion over two years to adjust civil servant salaries, and it confirms N$2.8 billion for subsidised tertiary education.
Other social grants, including those for individuals with disabilities and vulnerable children, remain unchanged.
