Windhoek: The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.00 percent to stimulate domestic economic activity. The decision was made during the sixth and final Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2024, held on 02 to 03 December.
According to Namibia Press Agency, BoN Governor Johannes !Gawaxab announced the decision on Wednesday, noting that domestic economic activity strengthened in the first 20 months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. !Gawaxab highlighted that the expansion was primarily driven by the mining, electricity generation, wholesale and retail trade, tourism, communication and transport sectors, and the livestock marketing subsector.
!Gawaxab also indicated that the global economic recovery is estimated to have slowed since the previous MPC meeting. He mentioned that the MPC considered narrowing the policy rate differential with the South African Reserve Bank over the medium term. Furthermore, the committee welcomed the current fiscal policy stance, w
hich is supportive of macroeconomic stability, underlining the importance of the government’s growth-friendly fiscal path and investment in growth-enhancing initiatives.
The next MPC meeting is scheduled for 10 to 11 February 2025.