By Meletus EZE
Namibia’s economy will expand by at least 1 per cent this year and by double that by 2020, Finance Minister, Calle Schlettwein said on Monday, following a recession last year in a broad based contraction.
Schlettwein said in Windhoek that the growth would be driven by rising commodity prices.
The southern African nation’s small economy contracted in the final two quarters of 2017, and by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter.
Namibia dropped into recession after its mining-fueled economy contracted in the final two quarters of 2017.
The southern African country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 1.0 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter after a 1.0 percent drop in the third quarter.
The construction sector contracted partly because of a drop in investment in mining, while hotels and restaurants also performed weakly.
Earlier this year, Namibia said its economy would grow as the mining sector emerged from years of contraction and as the impact of recent severe drought eased.
