The Board of Directors of the Bank of Namibia yesterday praised the governor of the central bank Johannes !Gawaxab, for his dedicated leadership during his tenure. This follows an unexpected announcement that the governor will vacate his post at the end of this year.
The board cited inflation that remained well contained during his tenure, averaging 3.6% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to 4.6% in the same period in 2024. It said disciplined monetary policy, including a cumulative 400-basis-point rate hike between February 2022 and June 2023, laid the groundwork for rate cuts introduced this year. Neither !Gawaxab nor the board communicated the reason for his departure.
“!Gawaxab’s served a distinguished tenure filled with exemplary stewardship, bold reforms and transformative leadership, guiding the Bank through one of the most challenging and consequential periods in Namibia’s modern economic history. His leadership coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic turbulence, renewed domestic reform momentum, and a financial sector undergoing structural change. Throughout this period, he oversaw a strengthened macroeconomic framework characterised by low and stable inflation, a resilient financial system and an increasingly modernised policy environment,” said the board.
According to the board his tenure also marked a new era of governance, localisation and accountability within the financial sector. Through the Banking Institutions Act of 2023 and related reforms, !Gawaxab championed the strengthening of board independence, ensuring that banking institutions maintain boards that are both locally empowered and accountable to Namibia’s national interests.
These reforms further required that all credit decisions be made within Namibia, ending practices that were misaligned with the country’s developmental aspirations. The introduction of a minimum 25% Namibian ownership threshold reinforced the Bank’s commitment to deepening local participation, while strengthened governance standards ensured that local directors act decisively in the national interest.
“On the macroeconomic front, Namibia benefited from a disciplined and credible monetary policy stance under his leadership. Inflation remained well-contained, averaging 3.6 percent in the first eight months of 2025, down from 4.6 percent over the same period in 2024. During the tightening cycle, the Bank raised the repo rate by a cumulative 400 basis points between February 2022 and June 2023. The consistent application of monetary policy has contributed significantly to the moderation of inflation, creating space for gradual easing this year to support the domestic economy,” said the board.
The board further said, he led the Bank’s support to the Government in successfully redeeming its USD 750 million Eurobond in full and on time. This achievement sent a powerful signal to markets and investors that Namibia honours its commitments transparently and reliably, thereby strengthening sovereign credibility and investor confidence.
His long-term vision is equally reflected in the establishment and strong performance of the Welwitschia Fund, Namibia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund. Seeded with N$270 million in 2022, the Fund has grown substantially through investment returns alone, reaching US$ 27.7 million, or approximately N$479 million, by September 2025. The Fund now stands as an important mechanism for intergenerational wealth creation and long-term economic stability.
Early in his career, ǃGawaxab worked as an executive of Old Mutual, the South African-based financial services conglomerate. While there he rose to the level of CEO of Old Mutual Africa, serving in that capacity for nine years. In 2015, he took early retirement from Old Mutual, and he started Eos Capital, a Namibian private equity firm with over N$500 million (US$30 million) under management.
At the same time, he served on the boards of several parastatals and many private businesses, serving as the chairman, on most of them. The parastatals that he chaired included the Namibian Social Security Fund and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), the oil and gas company owned by the government of Namibia. In December 2021, !Gawaxab was reappointed to a new five-year term as the Governor of the Bank of Namibia.