WINDHOEK, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A senior advisor to President Hage Geingob said Wednesday that Namibia averted causing a massive heart attack to the economy when it introduced budget cuts.
Economic advisor John Steytler said this when he contributed to a discussion on the state of the economy in Windhoek.
"The patient is stable. A heart attack was avoided, but the patient is probably not out of hospital yet," he noted.
Namibia embarked on massive budget cuts in 2016 that have seen government departments suspending several non-core activities.
The budget cuts also saw the shelving of more than 50 capital projects, among them road construction.
All vacant posts in the public service were frozen, while a new payment system was devised to control cash flow.
Steytler said the imbalances that almost collapsed Namibia's economy had been building up over time.
He also said that they could not act earlier to avert the near collapse because at the time everything seemed well.
"The budget cuts were necessary because even though the economy is weak at the moment, it is now in a better position than it was two years ago," Steytler said.
According to Steytler, private businesses should not depend on the government as a source for funding. Enditem
