Namibia - Governance and Economic Recovery Support Programme (GERSP)

General

The proposed operation is an ADB Loan of One billion four hundred and seventy million South African Rand (1.5 billion ZAR), to the Republic of Namibia to finance the Governance and Economic Recovery Support Program (GERSP). The GERSP aims to support GRN’s reforms geared towards strengthening resilience and enhancing inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms, as articulated in the Letter of Development Policy. The operation is designed in response to a request submitted by the Namibian Authorities in June 2020. This follows the completion of the Economic Governance and Competitiveness Support Program (EGCSP) in 2020 which has achieved significant results. The GERSP is designed as a programmatic series of two consecutive General Budget Support (GBS) operations covering the fiscal years 2020/21-2021/22. This is the first of the two-year series of the Program Based Operation (PBO). The package of reforms under the proposed program is organised around three mutually reinforcing and complementary components: (i) Attaining Fiscal Sustainability, will enhance macroeconomic performance and create fiscal space for the prioritization of capital and social spending by helping to enhance domestic resource mobilization and mitigate fiscal risks (including those related to SOEs and PPPs); (ii) Supporting Private sector-led Agriculture and Industrial Sector Transformation, will support the strengthening of the policy framework for agriculture and industrial sector productivity and value addition, and enhanced private sector participation, with environmental sustainability in mind; (iii) Enhancing Economic and Social Inclusion, will support the development of the MSME framework, social protection and gender mainstreaming. It is a balanced program combining fiscal and sector-specific reforms while supporting measures geared towards enhancing inclusion.

Objectives

The goal of the proposed operation is to strengthen resilience and enhance inclusive postpandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms. The program will support Namibia’s medium to long term development agenda by building on the achievements of the EGCSP, with particular emphasis on enhancing fiscal performance, revival of critical sectors of the economy, development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and social protection.

Target Groups

The program’s direct beneficiaries are the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies whose reforms are being supported by the operation. These are the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Industrialization and Trade; Ministry of Public Enterprises; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; and Ministry of Gender Equality. The private sector will benefit from improved investment opportunities in agriculture and industry (including in special economic zones), and PPP opportunities. The MSMEs will benefit from improved policy framework and access to affordable finance. Entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors will benefit from job opportunities as well as higher retention rates in targeted industries. The program will ultimately indirectly benefit all citizens of Namibia as enhanced fiscal performance will help to expand fiscal space for development and pro-poor spending; and climate-sensitive sector reforms will help to attract private investments for green growth and job creation. The operation will contribute to strengthened policy frameworks for economic empowerment of women and is a category III on the Gender Marker System.