Namibian Army Financial Struggles

This year, the economic downturn has hit Namibia hard. The other day, 1000 soldiers were asked to go home. The official reason for the release of soldiers was that there were no funds to feed and house them. Generally, this has been a long time coming. The military equipment that Namibia has is old and not all in commission. They were purchased second-hand from other countries. In this time of austerity, even the president’s private jet has been grounded.

Despite this, Namibia has one of the highest proportional spending on the military at ~5% of GDP. Most of their military conflicts are internal such as with secessionists from the Caprivi Strip.  Fortunately, the relations between Namibia and its neighboring countries is friendly, so there is little need to defend against foreign encroachment.

However, while it is understandable that the government is in dire financial straights, many citizens find it suspicious how the government seems to spend on unnecessary things due to personal connections of politicians. For instance, purchasing large shares of foreign companies, or luxury goods.

But despite all the commotion about the spiraling economy, this new year is projected to improve the economy due to a new Chinese uranium mine. It’s just a question of what they will do next time.

https://warisboring.com/the-namibian-army-is-struggling-to-keep-its-lights-on/

~Scarlett