!Gawaxab ready to deal in hope
The appointment of the new chief of the central bank in Namibia yesterday was met by mixed reactions.
Jo-Maré Duddy – Leaders are dealers in hope and what Namibians need now is hope.
These were the words of Johannes !Gawaxab shortly after president Hage Geingob appointed him as the new governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN).
Geingob chose !Gawaxab, currently the chairman of his High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy, for the top position ahead of deputy governor Ebson Uanguta.
Uanguta - who, among others, holds a master’s degree in economics from the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia – has been shadowing former BoN governor Iipumbu Shiimi as deputy governor of the central bank since 2012. Geingob recently appointed Shiimi as finance minister.
!Gawaxab, among others, has a master of arts from the Kingston School of Business in the United Kingdom, as well as master of business leadership from the Graduate Scholl of Business Leadership in South Africa.
Among others, !Gawaxab currently is the chairman of Eos Capital, a local private equity fund he founded in 2015. He will step down from these roles to ensure he has no conflict of interest once he becomes the new BoN chief, !Gawaxab told Market Watch.
His previous positions include the managing director for Africa of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, the group chief executive of Old Mutual Namibia, the general manager of Air Namibia, as well as the manager of planning and public relations at TransNamib.
Announcing his appointment yesterday, Geingob alluded to Uanguta being snubbed by saying people aren’t always happy when they are by-passed. However, he was promised “full support” for !Gawaxab, Geingob said.
!Gawaxab has initially been appointed for a period of 18 months – from 1 June to 31 December 2021. This would have been the remainder of the unexpired term of Shiimi had he stayed governor.
Reaction
!Gawaxab’s appointment was met by mixed reactions yesterday.
“The announcement came as a bit of a surprise,” said research analyst at IJG Securities, Dylan van Wyk.
“We would have liked to see someone with a background in economics and monetary policy experience in this role,” Van Wyk told Market Watch.
He added that !Gawaxab “is by no means unqualified for the job and his experience in the investment and private equity space certainly counts in his favour”.
However, he would have pegged Uanguta as the most likely candidate for the job, “seeing as he has been the deputy for over eight years and [has] nearly a decade of experience” at the BoN, Van Wyk said.
The managing director of Simonis Storm (SS), Bruce Hansen, said !Gawaxab “is an ideal appointment”.
Hansen said !Gawaxab “has the credentials, experience and stature for this position”.
“He has extensive experience in the financial services industry, and a solid understanding of both regional and the Namibian economic, business and investment environment.
“He has good rapport with the business and government leaders in Namibia and I am sure he’ll be key in pertinent discussions with these important stakeholders as we try and navigate our way through the current economic and health storm,” Hansen said.
Plan of action
In a short interview with NBC after his appointment yesterday, !Gawaxab said he believes a leader should “listen to the music of the future and start dancing to it today”.
While undertaking to maintain the BoN’s independent monetary policy, ensuring that the financial sector remains stable and Namibia has price stability, !Gawaxab promised a “fresh” approach to the overall mandate of the central bank.
Geingob in his announcement said the BoN has a “pivotal role” to play in the country. Not only is the BoN government’s banker, but also its financial advisor and fiscal agent, the president said.
!Gawaxab told the NBC the very difficult times Namibia is facing are unprecedented. The country is in a health and economic crisis which will require “harmonised and coordinated efforts”, he said.
In a brief conversation with Market Watch, !Gawaxab said his first priority as governor of the BoN will be to understand the full context of the bank’s mandate and how it can be used to deal with the challenges Namibia faces currently.
!Gawaxab said the BoN will have a role to play in ensuring the economic livelihoods of Namibians after the country exit the Covid-19 crisis.
He pointed out that he will have a “very strong team” at the BoN. The central bank is a “well established institution”, “probably with the best research ability” in the country, !Gawaxab told the NBC.
These were the words of Johannes !Gawaxab shortly after president Hage Geingob appointed him as the new governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN).
Geingob chose !Gawaxab, currently the chairman of his High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy, for the top position ahead of deputy governor Ebson Uanguta.
Uanguta - who, among others, holds a master’s degree in economics from the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia – has been shadowing former BoN governor Iipumbu Shiimi as deputy governor of the central bank since 2012. Geingob recently appointed Shiimi as finance minister.
!Gawaxab, among others, has a master of arts from the Kingston School of Business in the United Kingdom, as well as master of business leadership from the Graduate Scholl of Business Leadership in South Africa.
Among others, !Gawaxab currently is the chairman of Eos Capital, a local private equity fund he founded in 2015. He will step down from these roles to ensure he has no conflict of interest once he becomes the new BoN chief, !Gawaxab told Market Watch.
His previous positions include the managing director for Africa of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, the group chief executive of Old Mutual Namibia, the general manager of Air Namibia, as well as the manager of planning and public relations at TransNamib.
Announcing his appointment yesterday, Geingob alluded to Uanguta being snubbed by saying people aren’t always happy when they are by-passed. However, he was promised “full support” for !Gawaxab, Geingob said.
!Gawaxab has initially been appointed for a period of 18 months – from 1 June to 31 December 2021. This would have been the remainder of the unexpired term of Shiimi had he stayed governor.
Reaction
!Gawaxab’s appointment was met by mixed reactions yesterday.
“The announcement came as a bit of a surprise,” said research analyst at IJG Securities, Dylan van Wyk.
“We would have liked to see someone with a background in economics and monetary policy experience in this role,” Van Wyk told Market Watch.
He added that !Gawaxab “is by no means unqualified for the job and his experience in the investment and private equity space certainly counts in his favour”.
However, he would have pegged Uanguta as the most likely candidate for the job, “seeing as he has been the deputy for over eight years and [has] nearly a decade of experience” at the BoN, Van Wyk said.
The managing director of Simonis Storm (SS), Bruce Hansen, said !Gawaxab “is an ideal appointment”.
Hansen said !Gawaxab “has the credentials, experience and stature for this position”.
“He has extensive experience in the financial services industry, and a solid understanding of both regional and the Namibian economic, business and investment environment.
“He has good rapport with the business and government leaders in Namibia and I am sure he’ll be key in pertinent discussions with these important stakeholders as we try and navigate our way through the current economic and health storm,” Hansen said.
Plan of action
In a short interview with NBC after his appointment yesterday, !Gawaxab said he believes a leader should “listen to the music of the future and start dancing to it today”.
While undertaking to maintain the BoN’s independent monetary policy, ensuring that the financial sector remains stable and Namibia has price stability, !Gawaxab promised a “fresh” approach to the overall mandate of the central bank.
Geingob in his announcement said the BoN has a “pivotal role” to play in the country. Not only is the BoN government’s banker, but also its financial advisor and fiscal agent, the president said.
!Gawaxab told the NBC the very difficult times Namibia is facing are unprecedented. The country is in a health and economic crisis which will require “harmonised and coordinated efforts”, he said.
In a brief conversation with Market Watch, !Gawaxab said his first priority as governor of the BoN will be to understand the full context of the bank’s mandate and how it can be used to deal with the challenges Namibia faces currently.
!Gawaxab said the BoN will have a role to play in ensuring the economic livelihoods of Namibians after the country exit the Covid-19 crisis.
He pointed out that he will have a “very strong team” at the BoN. The central bank is a “well established institution”, “probably with the best research ability” in the country, !Gawaxab told the NBC.
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