By: David Shoombe
With one month to go before October, Namibia’s ability to report on its developmental progress will be tested during the mid-term budget review.
This review serves as a test of public financial accountability and demonstrates the link between political commitment and public trust.
The 2025 African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Report highlighted weak statistical coordination among Namibian institutions.
Against this background, the government’s efforts over the past nine months will be tested by how effectively it can track and report on the country’s developmental progress.
Public accountability is a cornerstone of democracy in Southern Africa, as it enables citizens and institutions to track resource allocation, assess government performance, and monitor development progress.
The Minister of Finance, as the chief financial advisor to the government and custodian of the national treasury, has to appear before Parliament in order to present progress in terms of government projects and project alignment and realignment.
One month before the presentation of the midterm budget review, the Villager Newspaper asked financial professionals and citizens about their expectations for the midterm budget review this coming October.
Their views are on how the national budget will contribute to the delivery of 500,000 jobs by 2030, eradicate poverty with N$109 million allocated to the Anti-Corruption Commission, and report on developmental progress.
The 2026/2027 Budget, which is titled ” People, Productivity and Prudence “, is therefore expected to report its progress, among its priorities, which include the top five in order of budget allocation, with the education sector getting the highest budget vote of N$28 billion.
Followed by the Ministry of Health and Social Services with N$13.1 billion, Finance at N$12.8 billion, followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, Safety and Security at N$ 8.1 billion and the Defence Ministry at N$7.5 billion.
The impact of education prioritisation is still to be determined.
One of the things that stood out from the participants was the job creation.
Emilia Nuukushu, a resident of Windhoek and a graduate of business administration, states that, “The mid-term budget Review shall be data-driven and take the public into confidence with data to tell the public how many jobs were created.”
Nuukushshu further indicates that apart from the finance spent, she expects the report in terms of numbers to be backed by the impact that is measured on the ground, such as jobs created, services provided, and institutions strengthened.
Speaking to a member of the youth in Windhoek, Alpo Nashilongo, he indicated that the Mid-Term Budget Review shall be able to link the budget speech, its intention, and the results.
“I personally expect the report on the progress of the development of Namibia’s football stadiums and the impact of financial distribution in the creative sector,” Nashilongo said.
Nelson Natangwe, a teacher of development studies, has indicated that, “The 2025 midterm budget review was unsatisfactory, it partially addressed main developmental issues.”
For this year, he is waiting for the full report on the National Entrepreneurship Youth Fund, which allocated N$257 million to youth, and the progress on the Green Schemes in terms of production outputs.
Natangwe has indicated that the Namibia 2026 midterm budget review will be a test of Namibian public and private institutions’ ability to deliver up-to-date developmental statistics.
In 2026, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has launched a National Statistics Coordination Strategy in order to coordinate the National Statistics and collaborate with developmental partners, and reduce duplication of statistics.
Parallel to that, the Bank of Namibia, in collaboration with NSA, has commemorated the Statistics Awareness Day this year, where the issue of lack of funding has been raised to hinder Namibia progress in reporting and influencing public policy through statistics.
It is, therefore, in the hands of the Ministry of Finance to report on what has been spent (over N$104 billion) the shortcomings, opportunities, and challenges faced by the Namibian economy.
The oil and gas resources, along with green hydrogen, are expected to take center stage in the midterm budget review.
