WINDHOEK, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Finance Minister, Calle Schlettwein on Monday at a press briefing summoned the collective support of all Namibians and called on the private sector and investor community to remain positive and supportive during this adjustment process.
The call from the minister was made following the action by Moody's downgrade of Namibia's credit rating from Baa3- to Ba1 on Aug. 11.
"Contrary to the view by Moody's, spending arrears are being addressed through a combination of measures, ranging from current year budget revenue, other forms of infrastructure financing and market financing," he said.
According to the minister, a formal assessment of the impact of this measure is to be made and appraised through the Mid-Year budget review planned for Oct., 2017, instead of speculative assumptions such as those which informed Moody's action.
"We, therefore, remain optimistic that growth prospects will gain more traction as the year progresses, with increased activity in the mining, agriculture and tourism sectors anchoring the outlook," he said.
Meanwhile in terms of the state of the economy , the minister said high frequency indicators suggest that economic activity is better this year than a year ago.
"We also believe that the accelerated payment of outstanding invoices supports working capital for the private sector and therefore, economic activity going forward," he said.
