Government should tap into GIPF to boost growth
Windhoek (bw) – The chairman of the PDM party, McHenry Venaani, has recommended that the government tap into the state pension fund (GIPF) to secure investment capital with which to stimulate the economy. “Namibia must start mobilising domestic capital for development. Institutions such as the state pension fund have considerable financial resources that could support strategic domestic investment,” Venaani recommended in his contribution to the budget debate in Parliament.
Through carefully structured public-private partnerships, “the pension capital” (GIPF) could be channelled into infrastructure projects, agricultural projects and industrial investments, whilst safeguarding the interests of pensioners,” Venaani suggested. The state-owned GIPF currently has fixed assets of around N$194 billion, with just under 99,000 contributing members, all civil servants. If the government were to borrow funds from the GIPF and channel them towards national development priorities, industrialisation could also be driven forward, Venaani argued.
“We must strive for bold structural reforms that boost productivity, expand industrial capacity and empower our citizens to participate fully in the economy,” he urged. In his view, Namibia’s year-round water-bearing rivers should be utilised, yet there is no comprehensive national irrigation strategy to increase agricultural production significantly. Agriculture must become a productive industrial sector and should not merely serve the purpose of self-sufficiency, Venaani argued.
If property rights, industrialisation, agriculture, infrastructure and institutional capacities were addressed with seriousness and urgency – which would require bold decisions from the government – Namibia could significantly expand its economic potential and also create jobs, Venaani said.
