INTERNATIONAL – Namibian Minister of Finance Calle Schlettwein said Tuesday the country will implement fiscal consolidation to support its domestic economy after Fitch Ratings' downgrade.
Fitch Ratings, a major global ratings agency, on Tuesday downgraded Namibia's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from "BB+" to "BB".
Fitch said the Namibian economy remains under recessionary pressures, amid external shocks arising from the impact of a severe drought, elevated risks of contingent liabilities from certain public enterprises and a lower regional growth outlook.
"Achieving economic growth, which is the necessary condition for the reduction of public debt, revenue generation, the creation of jobs and the reduction of poverty and inequality, is by far the most important objective over the short and the long term," Schlettwein said.
He said the country will also implement structural policy reforms, improve business confidence and policy certainty and facilitate the recovery of its domestic economy and sustainable public debt management.
Schlettwein said his government, in collaboration with private sectors, has already begun implementing growth enhancing measures by increasing development budget by 42.2 percent to 7.9 billion Namibian dollars ($516 million).