Martin Endjala
The decline of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 4.2 percent in 2023 has been described as a huge margin compared to 5.3 percent in the previous years.
This is according to Independent Bank Researcher and Economist, Josef Sheehama, who said that despite the economic recovery in 2022, the socio-economic situation did not improve significantly.
Employment is estimated to remain below pre-pandemic levels because labour-intensive manufacturing subsectors have added jobs relatively slowly. Spurred by higher fuel prices, inflation increased to a disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.
“Therefore, there is no excitement for the time being unless the country comes up with another economic activity to boost GDP. Declined to 4.2 percent compared to the previous years of 5.3 percent is a huge margin,” said the Economist.
He also highlighted that this means the employment rate decreases due to less economic activity. The decline in economic activities he said, is often accompanied by a decline of real income, increasing unemployment, and reduced production.
This follows the Annual National Accounts for 2023 released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) on Tuesday, which provides an estimated account of the comprehensive view of the economic performance of Namibia during 2023 and is crucial for understanding the overall health and trajectory of the economy.
NSA Statistician-General and Chief Executive Officer Alex Shimuafeni said despite the declines of the economy by 4.2 percent, the Namibian economy continued to ride in a positive direction, posting a growth of 4.2 percent in 2023 relative to a growth of 5.3 percent recorded in 2022.
This growth rate he said, indicates the pace at which the economy is expanding and serves as a barometer of economic activity.
Meanwhile, in nominal terms, the size of the economy was estimated at N$227.8 billion during the reporting period relative to N$205.5 billion recorded in 2022.
This shows a moderate expansion of N$22.3 billion. For the year 2023, the mining and quarrying sector was the biggest in the economy contributing 14.4 percent to GDP followed by manufacturing at 11.2 percent and Wholesale at 11 percent.
Gross fixed capital formation (investment) accelerated on the back of increased expenditure in oil and gas exploration, posting 69.3 percent in 2023 relative to 10.0 percent registered in 2022.
