Johannes Sakaria unpacks the mid term budget review

Following the tabling of the mid-year budget review by minister of finance Ericah Shafudah – presented under the theme ‘People, Productivity, and Prudence’ – Desert FM speaks to political analyst Sakaria Johannes to critically assess the government’s fiscal roadmap and revenue outlook.

With revised economic growth slowing to 2.3% and significant drops in diamond export revenues, Johannes addresses the growing gap between budget promises and the daily realities of ordinary Namibians struggling with youth unemployment, housing shortages and rising living costs. Challenging the state’s reliance on raw material exports, he urges policymakers to move beyond political rhetoric, face structural inequalities head-on, and aggressively invest in domestic value addition, industrial diversification and local agriculture to build a resilient, competitive economy for a population of over three million people.