27 June 2016, Windhoek — Government should not subsidise fuel prices, but should rather promote the more efficient use of fuel, as subsidising fuel uses unnecessary financial resources.
This is according to Klaus Schade, the executive director of the Economic Association of Namibia and a research associate of the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR).
“With the constant increase in dealer margins and fuel levies in Namibia, local consumers have not benefitted from lower global oil prices,” said Schade.
He also noted that falling transport inflation – which accounts for 15 percent of overall inflation – is mostly felt by fuel intensive businesses, such as fisheries, mining and transport as well as individual motorists.
According to Schade lower income groups have not really benefitted from lower transport inflation. Schade made these comments yesterday during an Economy Watch presentation, themed: ‘The two sides of the low oil price’.
The seasoned economist pointed out that mostly due to lower global oil prices Namibia’s exports to Angola declined from N$4.1 billion in 2014 to N$2.6 billion on 2015.
In fact, in 2015 Angola was ranked fifth on Namibia’s list of top export destinations and now the northern neighbour does not even feature in the top 10 positions on that list.
“Even Air Namibia is considering closing their Angolan route, which used to be their most profitable route by far,” Schade observed.
“The challenges of low oil prices (for Namibia) far outweigh the benefits, as it directly impacts Namibia’s economic growth and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
- New Era