Shiimi adds N.dollars 3.6 billion to 2024/25 national budget

WINDHOEK, 31 OCT (NAMPA) – Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Iipumbu Shiimi, has announced an additional N.dollars 3.6 billion to the 2024/25 financial year budget of N.dollars 100.1 billion.
Tabling the mid-year budget review here on Wednesday, Shiimi said the operation expenditure of N.dollars 74.6 billion has increased by N.dollars 2.6 billion, whilst the development budget has decreased to N.dollars 10.4 billion and the debt servicing costs remain unchanged at N.dollars 12.9 billion.
He indicated that considering the low execution rates on capital projects, a total of N.dollars 2.1 billion has been identified for reallocation, noting that the projects affected by budget reallocations are primarily in the railway sector.
“Given the importance of the rail sector to unlock economic activities, we will ensure that sufficient funding is availed to the upgrading and development of the railway network, going forward,” he said.
He noted an additional N.dollars 698.8 million has been availed for drought relief, which allows for the programme to be expanded to cover 308 750 households until 30 June 2025, bringing the total drought relief budget for 2024/25 FY to well over N.dollars 1.4 billion.
An additional N.dollars 139 million has been availed to extend the N.dollars 600 monthly Conditional Basic Income Grant (CBIG) to additional qualifying beneficiaries in urban localities countrywide. This is in addition to N.dollars 117.8 million allocated to the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare to ensure sufficient coverage of the Old Age Social Grants to the elderly during the financial year.
Shiimi further highlighted that a total of N.dollars 1.1 billion has been added on the goods and services budgets of various votes including, among others, N.dollars 450 million for the Ministry of Health and Social Services to meet various emergencies in the sector, while N.dollars 233 million was added for summer cropping at the various green schemes.
Additionally, N.dollars 200 million was added to supplement the budget of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN); N.dollars 187.8 million for hostel catering and utilities bill for the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; N.dollars 140 million to cover utilities for the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, and; N.dollars 86.8 million to cover foreign exchange rate fluctuations for the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation cognisant of overspending in the preceding year.
The minister further indicated that N.dollars 2.4 billion has been allocated to subsidies and other transfers to government organisations, inclusive of N.dollars 500 million to cover projected shortfalls on the Public Service Employees Medical Aid Scheme (PSEMAS); N.dollars 386 million for the University of Namibia to cover its operational expenses; N.dollars 187.8 million to supplement the contingency budget; N.dollars 88 million to cover shortfalls on student funding at the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF); and N.dollars 40 million to absorb the suspended electricity tariffs increase by the Electricity Control Board (ECB).
“These additional expenditure allocations met the criteria of unforeseeable and unavoidable emergency items, which cannot be deferred until the tabling of the main budget in February 2025,” he said.
(NAMPA)
LD/HP