WINDHOEK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's economy is expected to grow by 0.3 percent this year, according to the country's central bank's April 2019 Economic Outlook Update released Monday.
The real Gross Domestic Product growth is projected to recover slightly to 0.3 percent, before improving to 1.9 percent in 2020, the central bank's director of strategic communication and financial sector development, Emma Halyambo said.
"The expected recovery will be supported mainly by anticipated improvements in the construction, hotels and restaurant sectors," she said.
According to Halyambo, the latest overall growth projection of 0.3 percent for 2019 represents a downward revision from 1.5 percent published during December 2018.
"More information about economic activities for 2019 is now available and it is clear that growth estimates for diamonds, uranium and metal ores are lower than what was anticipated in December 2018 update," she added.
According to Halyambo, risks to domestic growth are mainly in the form of persistently low uranium price and unpredictable rainfall, she noted.
"The low uranium price increases uncertainty about expected production from uranium mines, while the erratic rainfall may continue to negatively affect the performance of the agriculture sector beyond 2019," she added.
