The spill-over effects on African economies from the weakening global economy has left the continent facing serious challenges, Speaker of the National Assembly Theo-Ben Gurirab said this week. He was addressing the Inter Parliamentary Union assembly held in Cape Town.

While economists are debating degrees of severity of such challenges, the impact of economic hardship is felt by those affected by underdevelopment, poverty, disease and hunger, he said.
“Stability, nation building and social development are demanding problems for all of us,” Gurirab told the meeting.
He said socio-economic challenges remain high priority areas in the formulation of national budgets, while at the same time, governments are expected to embark upon prudent fiscal policies and better management of public expenditure to sustain macroeconomic stability and productivity over the long term.
“In Namibia, poverty reduction, income distribution and sustainability of welfare of our citizens are overarching goals for our government,” he said, adding that unemployment continues to pose a serious challenge for Namibia as with other developing countries.