Nico Smit unpacks implications of Namibia’s downgrade to a lower-middle income country

[PODCAST]

Namibia has been officially downgraded by the World Bank from an upper-middle income country to a lower-middle income country, making it the only nation globally to move down a category in this year’s classification.

This shift reignites long-standing concerns about income inequality, access to concessional loans, and our rising national debt. It also raises a critical question: Is this downgrade a crisis, or a strategic opportunity for Namibia to finally access the international support it has long been denied?

To help us unpack the political, economic, and governance implications, we’re joined by Nico Smit, treasurer general of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM).