By: Finna Kahili

Following a comprehensive review of domestic, regional and global economic developments, the Bank of Namibia (BoN) maintained the repo rate at 7.75 percent for the next two months. This development according to the central bank’s Governor, Johannes !Gawaxab, is to continue safeguarding the peg between the Namibian dollar and the South African Rand.

Economic developments in the domestic and international markets influenced the decision to keep the repo rate steady at the current level of 7.75%. Inflation slowed year-to-date while the Private Sector Credit Extension (PSCE) remained subdued.

“It’s a welcomed development from an import point of view and normally as a nation we run a trade deficit.Our current account is in a deficit, so yesterday I got a figure that between 2021 and 2023 we had a current account deficit of around 12,5 that moved to about 15%. We are a net importer and its a welcomed development from that perspective,” remarked !Gawaxab.

On Namibia’s international reserves, Gawaxab revealed that it stood higher at N$55.6 billion as at the 31st of May 2024 compared to N$54.3 billion during the same period last year. This he says, was supported by higher SACU receipts and customer foreign currency placements.

“So if you look year-to-date outflows in 2024 was about R12,2 billion and if you compare it with the same period last year, then the outflows were about N$9.9 billion,”said !Gawaxab.

The Governor further elaborated on the first quarter performance of the global economy, which according to Gawaxab, exhibited a modest but positive growth. The next MPC meeting will be held on the 12th and 13th of August this year.

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