Namibia gets N$10b loan

NAMIBIA has received a N$10 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to bridge its budget deficit. The loan was sourced against the backdrop of a declining state fiscal environment and slowing economic growth, which threaten to put the brakes on government's development programmes.

Finance minister Calle Schlett­wein yesterday confirmed the loan, only after the appearance of a media release by the AfDB late Wednesday, in which it announced the issuing of a US$226,5 million (R3 billion) credit line to effectively plug holes in the Namibian budget.