The Minister of Finance has, delegated to the Bank of Namibia all the powers, functions and duties assigned to and imposed on the Treasury under the provisions of the Exchange Control Regulations, for the purpose of carrying out the functions of exchange control.

The Bank of Namibia has in turn, delegated several of the exchange control functions to certain commercial banks that were appointed by the Minister of Finance to act as Authorised Dealers in foreign exchange to assist the Bank of Namibia with the administration of controls.

This appointment gives these banks the right to buy and sell foreign exchange, subject to conditions and within the limits prescribed by the Bank of Namibia. The Exchange Control involves measures to directly control or influence the in- and outflow of capital over the country’s borders.

Exchange Control is used not only to discipline the local demand for foreign currency in order to protect the official foreign currency of the country, but also to allocate available foreign currency in the best interest of the country as a whole.