President Hage Geingob has banned public officials from all foreign business travel in a bid to rein in government spending.
Namibia is facing such a severe financial crisis that its army has conceded that it can no longer buy food for soldiers or pay water and electricity bills at its bases.
Thousands of army personnel will therefore be sent on leave next month while those already on holiday have been told not to report for duty.
“No request for outbound travel by ministers, deputy ministers and other political office bearers will be considered until after the end of February,” a presidency statement said.
Geingob has stopped using the presidential jet, and went to the African Union summit, which ended on Monday, in a scheduled commercial flight.
According to BBC which quoted the AFP, he would only go on essential foreign trips, and with smaller delegations, his spokesman Albertus Aochamub said.
Government debt levels have been soaring in recent years, leading to investor warnings about the economic outlook of the southern African state.
Moody’s rating agency downgraded its debt to junk status in August.