The Bank of Namibia officially put the new N$30 commemorative banknote into circulation on Friday at an event held to mark the issuance of the note as a legal tender in the country. This means the new N$30 note banknote can now be used for the payment of goods and services alongside the current family of banknotes.
Friday’s event was presided over by the deputy governor of the Bank, Ebson Uanguta, who purchased goods with the newly-printed N$30 at a local Woermann Brock supermarket Klein Windhoek and a popular open market manned by fresh food vendors alongside Nelson Mandela Avenue.
Speaking at the official issuance of the banknote as a legal tender, Uanguta said the new note is a special banknote which marks the country’s three decades of independence, peaceful transfer of power between the country’s three presidents, and the entrenchment of democracy, national unity and stability.
Notwithstanding current economic challenges and the outbreak of Covid-19, the deputy governor stated that Namibians have good reasons to celebrate these milestones.
Uanguta urged the public to treat banknotes with care and respect and refrain from damaging Namibian currency, as that is expressly forbidden in terms of Sections 24 and 25 of the Bank of Namibia Act.
“The public should desist from reproducing the images of the banknote without permission of the Bank. Please do not take pictures, write, make holes, crumple or tear the banknotes, as they symbolise our national pride, national heritage and independence”, said Uanguta.
He further urged the public to be considerate of others when exchanging the N$30 banknote, as it is a once-off-print in limited quantities and therefore each Namibian should have an opportunity to own one and pay for goods and services with it or keep as a souvenir/collector’s item.
The N$30 commemorative banknote is available across the country at all commercial banks. To get the N$30 commemorative banknote from commercial banks, one will have to exchange an equivalent amount of the current family of banknotes or coins.