Environment, forestry and tourism budget increases by 19.4%

The environment, forestry and tourism ministry has been allocated a total of N$725.5 million for the 2024–2025 financial year.In his budget statement, finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi said this marks an increase of about 19.4% from the previous year.He said the increased allocation should allow the ministry to attend to infrastructural deficiencies given the increased volumes of tourist arrivals as well as improve overall marketing of Namibia as a tourism hub.According to the fiscal strategy for 2024–2025, the recovery in the tourism sector, proxied by hotels and restaurants, is on track and has reached pre-pandemic levels. It said the hotels and restaurants sector recorded a growth of 9.2% compared to 6.1% in 2022. “The strong growth in 2023 was supported by an increase in demand for tourism activities, induced by high international arrivals, new airline routes, and the depreciating exchange rate before moderating.”According to the report, there is sustained momentum in local tourism as well as increased competitive sports activities within the country.Growth in the sectorThe number of international arrivals reached pre-Covid-19 levels by the end of 2023. In 2024, the subsector is expected to slow down on the back of unstable economics in the EU market and a higher base, it said.The medium-term framework report for 2024/2025 to 2026/2027 notes that during the past performance in 2022/2023, the ministry collected N$9.3 million in total revenues from gaming and gambling activities during the period under review.It said the tourism contribution to the national GDP is estimated to reach a total of N$46.8 billion during 2024/2025 to 2026/2027 financial years.Strategies and policies Furthermore, the report noted that a total of 1 600 applications for environmental clearance certificates were received during 2022–2023.Also, 150 sites were inspected for environmental compliance and monitoring, and 20 compliance orders were issued with draft regulations for sand mining.As part of forest management, 57 spot fines were issued, 157 awareness campaigns were undertaken, 728 resource inspections were conducted, and 9 200 forest permits were issued.Future plans for 2024/2025 to 2026/2027 are to finalise stakeholder engagements on the proposed amendments to the Environmental Management Act (EMA) and regulations; the Forest Act amendment and regulations; a review of the forest and botanical research strategy; and formulating the national forest/veld fire management policy and strategy.The ministry employs 1 511 staff at the moment, and the budget has made funds available for 1 715.

Environment, forestry and tourism budget increases by 19.4%

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Environment, forestry and tourism budget increases by 19.4%

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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