Namibia unveils new plan to grow by 7%
Namibia unveiled an ambitious development plan targeting average economic growth of 7% over the next five years, as it seeks to restore its upper-middle-income status by the end of the decade.
The arid southwest African nation was downgraded by the World Bank to lower-middle-income earlier this month after its gross national income per capita fell slightly below the $4 496 (R8 700) threshold to maintain the higher status, amid weaker economic activity and increased population growth. The economy grew 3.7% last year from 4.4% in 2023, due to a decline in mining activity.
'We take this to be a temporary setback,' President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said in the foreword to her government's latest national development plan published Monday. 'It is possible to increase the per capita income above $6 000 by 2030.'
The plan seeks to increase Namibia's GDP per capita by prioritising green hydrogen, renewable energy, and value-added manufacturing to boost growth.
It wants to almost double its renewable energy capacity to 700 megawatts by 2028 and create 30 000 green jobs by 2030. Green hydrogen, in particular, is expected to anchor new industrial development and support clean energy exports.
The country is also targeting significant increases in its production of oil and gas by the end of the decade.
Namibia, one of the world's top uranium producers, is positioning itself as a hub for green hydrogen and critical minerals. It also expects to begin the production of offshore oil and gas discoveries as early as 2029.
It seeks to increase the share of manufacturing in its GDP to 18% from 15.6%.
To finance its goals, the government will draw on domestic and international public and private finance, while channelling resource revenues — particularly from mining, oil, gas, and green hydrogen — into strategic investments.
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