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This paper examines trends in budgeted as opposed to actual public expenditure between 1990/91 and 2004/05.
It finds four main reasons for changes in the patterns of budgeted public spending during the past 15 national budgets:
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reclassification of spending,
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commercialisation of government operations,
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strategic political motives,
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and changes in spending priorities.
The mid-1990s seemed to mark a turning point in the emphasis of public spending with more being spent on defence, paramilitary security, intelligence, medical aid for public servants, parastatals and public debt and less being spent on education, health, agriculture and housing services for the wider population. The one clear sign that spending is focused on fighting poverty is the increase in the allocation to welfare grants. However, overall there is every sign that public spending is becoming more rather than less inequitable and this should be a cause for concern.
Footnote:
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Julia Mbai is a final year economics student at the University of Namibia who worked as an intern at the IPPR from June
to August 2004. Robin Sherbourne is the Director of Public Policy Analysis at the IPPR.
He can be reached on robin@ippr.org.na.
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- 86Kb < 1min (14 pages)
