Govt economic policy approach repetitive – economist

Economist Robin Sherbourne has criticised the government’s economic policy-making approach, saying it has remained the same since independence.

Sherbourne says the government continues to blame external factors for economic issues, avoids tough decisions, introduces vague policies that create uncertainty and focuses on individual projects rather than a clear economic framework.

Sherbourne said this in the third quarter economic review published by the Institute for Public Policy Research yesterday.

“There’s a knee-jerk propensity to blame economic problems on external factors (world markets) and acts of God (drought), a refusal to take responsibility for economic performance and an extreme reluctance to take difficult decisions which are clearly in the long-term interests of the economy.

For example, the bloated public sector and loss-making state-owned enterprises which have featured in almost every budget statement since the 1990s,” Sherbourne said.

The government has a tendency to float half-baked policy ideas, which then hang over the investment landscape like a cloud of uncertainty, such as the national equitable economic empowerment bill and Namibia Investment Promotion Act, he said.

“There is a belief in individual projects and deals rather than a clear policy framework which sets out the rules of the economic game and incentivises investors which all players have to abide by.

These are serious shortcomings which show no sign of changing, with the path of least resistance invariably being the preferred way forward,” Sherbourne said.

Sherbourne also pointed out that there have been no new public-private partnerships (PPP) created, seven years after passing the PPP Act.

Namibia stands on the verge of historically unprecedented inflows of foreign direct investment, but the rules of engagement for foreign investors are anything but clear, Sherbourne said.

He said the surest way of improving the lives of the Namibian people is through a clear policy environment that promotes private sector investment and job creation.

“Policymakers can try and hang on until the oil revenues start flowing, probably well into the 2030s, or they can take action and build the investment environment that this important objective requires,” he said.

Meanwhile, Namibia’s economic recovery, which started in the second quarter of 2021, continued with 13 consecutive quarters of positive growth, culminating in robust growth of 3.5% in the second quarter of 2024.