The Namibian dollar has lost over 60% of its purchasing power from December 2001 up to April 2020. This is due to a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, steering a loss of jobs, a decline in real income, a slowdown in industrial and agricultural production and manufacturing, as well as a slump in consumer spending. This is provided in the Namibia Consumer Price Index for May 2020, gross domestic product (GDP) for the First Quarter of 2020, and the Sectoral Reports for April 2020 released by the Namibia Statistic Agency (NSA) in Windhoek today. Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni says the domestic economy remained suppressed in the first quarter of 2020, recording a contraction of 0,8% compared to a decline of 3,3% recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. The GDP shrunk to N$43,7 billion from N$44,1 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2019, showing a reduction of N$380 million in the size of the quarterly GDP. GDP is the monetary value of all finished goods and services made within a country. The education, health, electricity and water and the fishing sectors registered positive growths of 5,8%, 2,3%, 1,6% and 3,1%, respectively. Furthermore, improved performance was recorded in information and communication and construction sectors that posted growth rates of 6,2%, and 19,8%, respectively. Sectors such as agriculture and forestry, mining and quarrying, transport and storage and manufacturing suffered a decline in real value-added of 13%, 3,3%, 7,%, and 8,3%. The contraction in agriculture and forestry was predominantly driven by the persistent drop of the livestock farming subsector that was estimated to have registered a decline of 21,5% in real value-added, during the quarter under review relative to a contraction of 7,8% recorded in the same quarter of 2019. The impact of COVID-19 further accelerated economic shrinkage with travel bans and restriction in trade and manufacturing of non-essential goods and services. Manufacturing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages recorded a decline of 65,6% month on month and 70,7% on a yearly basis while building plans completed, especially in Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Windhoek and Ongwediva, for April 2020, was down by 98,1% when compared to April 2019.