Swapo Party MP Sharonice Busch says the national budget must be assessed not only by what it allocates but also by whether it changes the economic structure of the country in a meaningful and durable way.
She says reflection must be done on whether the allocations made are bold enough to move Namibia from a low-growth extractive economy to one that is structurally transformed and inclusive.
Sharonice Busch notes that the 2026-27 fiscal strategy points towards state-owned enterprises.
This, she says, is a positive departure from the past, where most development initiatives relied exclusively on direct budget allocations, encouraging state-owned enterprises to mobilise capital.
"We must begin with fiscal honesty. The status is operating under real pressure. Revenue for the financial year 2026-2027 is projected at about N$89,6 billion, while expenditure is estimated at about 106 billion, implying a significant fiscal gap. Public debt continues to rise, and interest payments are expected to absorb an increasing share of revenue. This means the fiscal space is narrow. The government alone cannot fund everything. Therefore, every Namibian dollar must work harder. We must ask ourselves whether spending is merely keeping the system running or whether it is deliberately building the productive base of our economy. In this regard, the budget shows a welcome sense of realism.
Meanwhile, IPC MP Isra Kanyemba says Namibians require transparency to ensure that allocated funds are spent on real progress, not merely addressing procurement delays.
"When we need upgrades, we pay foreign contractors. We must invest in innovation hubs where our own defence engineers are empowered to develop homegrown solutions for secure communications and border civilians. Why are we not innovating our own unmanned aerial systems to monitor our vast borders? True innovation means building a military-industrial complex that creates jobs for our Namibian science and engineering graduates. Let us stop being a maintenance department for foreign technology and start being a creative department."