Central bank pays Govt N$720 million in dividends

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) pays the government N$720 million today.

Minister of finance and social grants management Erica Shafudah announced this during the tabling of the national budget last week.

“Dividends to the tune of N$720 million are anticipated from the Bank of Namibia,” she said.

This is part of the revenue Shafudah has included in her N$106.2-billion budget.

The BoN last year declared a profit of N$511.1 million, the highest since its inception in 1990.

Additionally, the government has received N$1.6 billion in dividends from Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Limited (NPTH).

“We have deferred the utilisation of N$1.6 billion in dividends from the NPTH company, following the dissolution of the company, to financial year (FY) 2025/26,” Shafudah said.

NPTH holds 100% ownership of Telecom and Namibia Post Limited (NamPost), as well as 60% of Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC).

The dismantling will see Telecom and NamPost operating independently as opposed to being government-owned through NPTH.

The property transfer process is nearing an advanced stage, and “the complete transfer of all properties is scheduled to be finalised by January 2025”.

Shafudah said approximately N$450 million from the sale of the remaining 9% shares in MTC has been shifted to the next year’s estimates.

As of the time of tabling the budget, the government had secured 100% of its budget.

“We estimate total revenues of N$92.6 billion for FY2025/26, a moderate increase of only 1.9% from the revised estimates of the previous year,” Shafudah said.

The strain on revenues emanated from a N$6.9-billion reduction in Southern Africa Customs Union receipts, which is confirmed at N$21.1 billion.

Additionally, due to a decline in diamond sector revenue, as lab-grown diamonds continue to rise, government revenues had to be projected downward.

“Nevertheless, we estimate improved performance on several domestic revenue streams,” Shafudah said.

However, the government will be receiving more money from taxes as value-added tax is estimated to increase by N$2.6 billion.

Additionally, income tax on individuals is estimated to increase by N$1.8 billion, while non-mining company taxes are estimated to increase by N$1.3 billion.