Management of the Bank of Namibia

Johanna Iiyambula
Director: Finance & Administration,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Johanna is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), registered with both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Namibia (ICAN) and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). She holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Namibia and BCompt Honours degree (CTA) from the University of South Africa. She has also completed a Management Development Program through the University of Stellenbosch, and has attended various coaching and management trainings, and short courses.

Career and Experience: Her career started at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as a trainee Accountant where she initially served her three years’ articles contract. After completing her articles contract she continued to work at PWC as Manager: Audit, and later as Manager: Indirect Tax. Having gained considerable technical and managerial skills throughout her time at PWC, she joined Old Mutual Namibia as a Financial Accounting Manager in the Corporate Division where she worked for over 6 years. In 2014, she joined Standard Bank Namibia as Manager: Financial Controls and Compliance before being promoted to the position of Head: Financial Accounting, a position she held until November 2018.She recently joined the Bank of Namibia as Director: Finance and Administration in December 2018.

Barbara N. Dreyer-Omoregie
Director: Payment & Settlement Systems,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: MBA (2016): SMC University (Switzerland); Fellow at the Fletcher School Leadership Program in Financial Inclusion (2013) M. Ed – Ed Financing (2000): State University of New York at Buffalo; P/G Dipl SocSc Research Methods (1996): University of Stellenbosch; B.A (Hons) (1995): University of the Western Cape;
B. Ed (1994): University of the Western Cape; P/G Dipl Higher Ed (1992): University of the Western Cape; Certificate: International Executive Development Program – WITS Business School in conjunction with London Business School (August 2009); Executive Learning on Leading and Sustaining Change: World Bank (RAMP), Paris, France – 2011

Career and Experience: Ms. Dreyer-Omoregie brings with her a wealth of management and leadership experience and capability from both the private and public sector. Her career at the Bank of Namibia started as Director: Human Resources (2/2008 – 2011) and she currently occupies the position of Director: Payment and Settlement Systems since January 2012. Ms. Dreyer-Omoregie held several senior management HR positions in Old Mutual, Barloworld Namibia and First National Bank of Namibia. Additionally, she also held a Knowledge Management position at NAMDEB. Ms. Dreyer-Omoregie was part of the Editorial Committee for the ‘Celebrating 20 years in Central Banking’ book and serves on various Boards and Committees as well as conducting part-time lecturing at the Namibia University of Science and Technology since 2007.

Emile Van Zyl
Technical Advisor to the Governor,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Mr van Zyl holds a Masters in Commerce (Economics) at the University of Pretoria in 1986 after completion of a Bachelor of Commerce (Economic Sciences) and Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics in 1983 and 1984 respectively at the same university. In 1987 he completed a course at the University of South Africa in Bank Risk Management and Risk Management for Financial Institutions.

Career and Experience: His career started in 1985 when he was appointed at the South African Ministry of Finance at the Policy Unit as Fiscal Policy Advisor, and later as Personal Assistant to the Director General. In 1988 he accepted the position as Economist at Senbank, a merchant bank in Johannesburg, South Africa, and soon became the Senior Economist, where he was the author of dozens of articles and publications.

In 1992 he joined the ABSA Bank ALCO unit where he was co-responsible for managing the financials risks of the bank. In 1995 he moved to Namibia to join Bank Windhoek where he held various positions, such as Manager: ALCO, Senior Manager: Corporate Banking Services, Senior Manager: Retail Banking Services, Executive Officer: Treasury and International Banking Services, and Principal Officer of the Group’s Unit Trust Management Company. He also acted as the economist during his stay at Bank Windhoek. In 2003 he moved to Simonis Storm Securities where he became the Director of Research, responsible for market and economic research. He left the company at the beginning of 2012 when he joined the Bank of Namibia as Technical Advisor to the Governor.

Sam Shivute
Director: Banking Services,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Mr. SHIVUTE is a graduate of LLM - International Finance and Banking Law (University of Liverpool – UK), LLB (Honours) degree, B Juris degree (Both from the University of Namibia), B.Tech: Policing (Tshwane University of Technology - RSA), and a National Diploma in Police Science (Polytechnic of Namibia). In 2012, he successfully completed an International Executive Development Programme facilitated by London Business School (UK), India Institute of Management Bangalore (India) and Wits Business School (RSA). In 2014, he successfully completed the SCFMP (Small Countries Financial Management Programme) in Isle of Man and at Saiid Business School, Oxford University, UK. Mr. SHIVUTE holds a number of certificate qualifications in the area of crime investigations, security management, UN peacekeeping operations, project management and Leadership.

Career and Experience: Sam SHIVUTE is the Director: Banking Services Department at Bank of Namibia. In that capacity, he is responsible for banking services to the Government of the Republic of Namibia and all commercial banks in Namibia. He is also responsible for all aspects of currency management and the security functions of the Bank. Mr. SHIVUTE is a member of the Bank’s Management Committee and he is also a Trustee of the Bank of Namibia Provident Fund. He has been in the employ of the Bank for a period of 12 years. Prior to his current position he served as a Deputy Director: Protection Services Division for seven years, and Deputy Director: Currency & Banking Division for two years. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. SHIVUTE served as a Detective in the Namibian Police. Whilst in the Namibian Police, he was seconded to the United Nations Civilian Police (UNTAET) in East Timor between 2000-2002 where he served as an Investigator and subsequently the Deputy Chief: Office of Professional Standards, Audit & Evaluations. From April 2013 to October 2014, he was seconded by the Bank to the Ministry of Finance where he served as Commissioner: Inland Revenue Department.

Marsorry S.T. Ickua
Director: Information Technology,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Mr Ickua has a Masters degree in Information Systems Management (MSc: ISM) from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (2011). Other qualifications include a Diploma in Business Computing from Varsity College (1997) and a Diploma in PC Support from Boston City Campus (2000), both in Cape Town, South Africa. Short programmes include the Management Development Program (MDP) and Advanced Project Management through the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. In 2009, Marsorry underwent the prestigious International Executive Development Program (IEDP) through WITS Business School, South Africa (2009) in partnership with the London Business School (UK), Beijing and Shanghai (China).

Career and Experience: Mr Ickua has a distinct passion for innovation and technology; he provides vibrant leadership to the IT function. His career began in a Technical IT role at the Agricultural Bank of Namibia in March 2002, before moving to the Bank of Namibia in January 2003. Shortly after appointment, he moved up the ranks before becoming the Deputy Director: Technical & Network Services in February, 2006. Two years later, he was appointed Director of Information Technology in June, 2008. Under his leadership, various successful projects have shaped the way the Bank does central banking business, from an operational and at a national level. Through his capable team, these include virtualization and server consolidation for cost efficiency, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects, modernising the National Payment System (NISS), automating local and Government payment mechanisms through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to mention but a few.

Externally, he serves on the Curriculum Advisory Board of the Namibia University of Science and Technology and on the ICT Sub-Committee of the Committee of Central Bank Governors (CCBG) within the SADC region – a regional body consisting of the Directors of IT from Central Banks with the aim of realizing regional integration objectives within SADC.

Magreth Riwi Tjongarero
Head of Risk Management and Assurance,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: : Magreth has a Bachelor degree in Accounting and she has also passed CIA part one. In 2015, she attended the International Executive Development Program (IEDP) through WITS Business School, South Africa (2015) in partnership with the London Business School (UK), New Dehli and Bangladesh (India).

She has been part of the advisory committee on Short term insurance for the Minister of Finance for a period of 3 years starting 3rd December 2013 till 4th December 2016. This function include: provide comments at the request of the Minister of Finance, on any appeal against decisions of the Registrar or NAMFISA staff; conduct any investigation into, and advise or make recommendations to the Minister of Finance on any matter related to short-term insurance business; consult with the Minister of Finance, on practices or methods of carrying on short-term insurance business that are deemed to be irregular or undesirable; ensure that the interests of policyholders are represented.

Career and Experience: Auditing and Risk management, Business continuity

Magreth has over 16 years of financial and auditing experience, of which more than seven years have been served at Standard Bank Namibia, Internal Audit department. She has a proven track record in Internal Audit with comprehensive knowledge of the commercial banking environment, applications, processes, modern internal auditing practices as well as credit risk management. From 2007, while at Standard Bank Namibia, she was responsible for performing credit risk management audits in Africa where Standard Bank has presence. In 2011, she became the Head of audit for Standard Bank Namibia until 31 July 2012 and on 6 August 2012; she joined Bank of Namibia as the Head of Risk Management and Assurance. She acquired knowledge in business continuity. She was also a trainee accountant at Deloitte and Touché where she completed her four year articles in 2004. She attended a number of short courses which included leadership.

She has been part of the advisory committee on Short term insurance for the Minister of Finance for a period of 3 years starting 3rd December 2013 till 4th December 2016. This function included among others: investigation, consultation, advise or recommendations to the Minister of Finance on any matter related to short-term insurance business to ensure that the interests of policyholders are represented.

Dr Emma Haiyambo
Director: Strategic Communications
and Financial Sector Development,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: PhD in Development Finance - University of Stellenbosch (2016), Master in International Business - Polytechnic of Namibia (2013), MSc in Financial Economics - University of London, United Kingdom (2000), Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Economics (1999) - University of London, United Kingdom, Bachelor of Economics (BEconomics) - University of Namibia (1996), National Diploma in Public Administration - Technikon Namibia (1994). Other specialised training include Management Development Program - University of Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa (2003), Programme in Project Management, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2003).

Career and Experience: Dr Haiyambo started her career as an Economist for the National Accounts Division of the National Planning Commission in 1996 and later joined the Ministry of Trade and Industry as Trade Policy Analyst for the Directorate of International Trade in 1999. At the beginning of year 2000, she was appointed as Chief Development Planner for Gender Economic Mainstreaming Division under the Directorate of Women Affairs in the Office of the President, before she joined the Bank of Namibia in the same year as an Economist. She was promoted to Senior Economist position in 2003 and further to Deputy Director for Statistics and Publications Division of the Bank in 2005. She also served as Deputy Director for the Policy Research and Analysis Division of the Bank during 2008 -2010, Deputy Director Financial Inclusion in 2011 and as Deputy Director Financial Sector Development during 2012-2016 before being appointed as Director of Strategic Communications and Financial Sector Development in 2016. Her experience ranges from economic statistics compilation and analysis, research, trade policy analysis, financial sector development, development finance, project management, strategic planning and management, administration and communication.

Lea Namoloh
Director: Human Resources,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Executive MBA Maastricht University, The Netherlands 2003. Masters in Education, University of Namibia, 1997. Bachelor of Education(Hon), University of Bristol, England 1991. Diploma in Education, Morray House College, Scotland 1988. Diploma IN TEFL, Selly Oak College, Birmingham, England 1987. International Executive Development Programme, University of Wits, South Africa 2007. Certificate in Human Resources Management, DAMELIN 1998.

Career and Experience: Lea started her public services career in the Government of the Republic of Namibia, Ministry of Lands and Resettlement as a Training Officer. She was then promoted to the position of Deputy Director, Personnel Auditing in the Office of the Prime Minister in 1998. In the year 2000, she was again promoted to the position of Director, Human Resources, Finance and Administration in the Ministry of Regional Local Government and Housing. In 2003, Lea moved to the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement again as Under Secretary, Resettlement and Rehabilitation. She joined the corporate world in 2005 as the Director for Banking Services and was instrumental in driving a number of projects such as Government EFT, Banknote Recycling Standards, Currency Forecasting Model and the Production of the Upgraded Banknotes. She is currently heading the Department of Human Resources. Lea has served on numerous boards such as Government Institutions Pension Fund, SWABOU, Air Namibia and Namibia Wild Life Resorts.

Kuruvilla Mathew
Senior Advisor to the Governor,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications:Mr. Mathew has a Masters Degree in Accounting from the University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom and is also a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA, UK). He has also undertaken the International Executive Management Development (IEDP) Programme, from the University of Witwatersrand Business School/London Business School.

Career and Experience:Mr. Kuruvilla Mathew is currently serving as the Senior Advisor to the Governor at the Bank of Namibia. He joined the Bank of Namibia in late 1999 as the Financial Accountant and was promoted to the position of Deputy Director: Finance in 2001. He held this position until he was promoted to the position of Director in 2013. Prior to his engagement with the Bank, he undertook his training with Coopers & Lybrand and then worked in the manufacturing industry. A venture into the lecturing field and business summarizes his engagements prior to joining the Bank. He is presently serving as the Chairman of the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) of Namibia.

Ms. L. Dunn
Director: Financial Intelligence Center,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Master of Laws (cum laude) with specialization in international commercial law (LLM Commercial Law) Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom (2004); Baccalareus in Law (LLB) University of Stellenbosch (1997), Baccalareus in Artium (BA Law) University of Stellenbosch (1995). Specialised Training in Financial Market Integrity Leadership, World Bank (2007), Executive Leadership Wits Business School (2010), Woman in Leadership, University of America, USA (2008); Other specialized training in law, financial services regulation and finance was also done in South Africa, Namibia, United Kingdom, Australia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and Mozambique.

Career and Experience: Her wealth of knowledge in law and financial services regulation, span from an impressive record as legal practitioner of the High and Supreme Court of Namibia. She practiced law both as attorney and State Advocate until July 2006 when she joined the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) as a Legal Advisor. During her tenure at NAMFISA, her passion for serving and assisting less fortunate Namibians was evidenced by the huge success rate of settled claims between complainants and non-banking financial institutions against who claims have been registered. She remained with NAMFISA in her capacity as Legal Advisor until she was appointed as Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre. Her appointment as Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre made her the first female to occupy such position in Africa and one of only ten women in the world who currently holds such position. Leonie also serves as Chairperson of the Bank of Namibia Provident Fund Board of Trustees, Orange Babies Namibia (a welfare organization) and has been a member of the Law Society of Namibia since 1998. She also produced in Team Capacity various publications issued by the World Bank on Safeguarding and Enhancing Financial Market Integrity.

Nicholas Mukasa
Director: Financial Markets,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Designation (Passed CFA LIII, June 2012), RPE (Equity) with SAIFM and Bachelors of Business Administration (UNAM, 2002). Attended other specialised training in the area of risk, investment analysis and foreign reserves management at the World Bank, South African Reserve Bank and MEFMI. Also completed various internships and secondment programs with Imara SP Reid in South Africa (2007/08) and World Bank Treasury (2012).

Career and Experience: After spending some years in retail trade and civil aviation industries, Mukasa’s career in investments analysis and financial services started in January 2005 when he joined Namibia Equity Brokers (NEB) Pty Ltd as a Trainee Investment Analyst. After spending nearly five years in the area of trading, stockbroking and investment analysis at NEB, Mukasa joined Prudential Portfolio Managers (Namibia) in September 2009 where he spent two and half years in the Namibian asset management industry. Mukasa’s career at the central bank began in May 2011 when he joined the Financial Markets Department as a Risk Analyst. Mukasa rose through the ranks and was promoted into senior roles including Portfolio Manager and Portfolio Risk Manager responsible for the Middle Office Section within the Financial Markets Department. In January 2015, Mukasa was promoted into the position of Deputy Director: Compliance & Risk Analytics. Mukasa has been acting in the role of Director: Financial Markets since 4 January 2016. Mukasa has also worked as a part-time lecturer teaching specialist financial/ investment courses at UNAM and is a member of the Investment & Risk Committee of the Environmental Investment Fund (NEF) of Namibia.

Titus Ndove
Director: Financial Markets,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Master of Science in Financial Economics (MSc in Fin. Econ) - University of London, United Kingdom (2003), Graduate Fellow in Domestic Debt Markets from MEFMI (Macro Economics and Financial Management Institute of Southern and East Africa 2007) and Bachelor of Economics (B. Econ) from the University of Namibia (1998). He attended Management Development Program from the University of Stellenbosch. Other specialised training attended in economics, debt management and investments at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the South African National Treasury, respectively. Mr Ndove was also seconded to the Ministry of Finance’s Treasury department in 2011.

Career and Experience: His experience in central banking started in 1999 when joined the Bank following a one year’s stint at Nedbank as Executive Trainee. Ndove’s career at the central bank began as a Junior Research Officer in the Research department. He rose through the ranks and left the Research department with a position of Senior Economist in 2006 to join the Financial Markets department, heading the Money and Capital Market Section. In 2008, he becomes a Deputy Director of the Investments and Domestic Markets Division in the Financial Markets Department. He served at that position until his appointment in January 2012 as Director Financial Markets. Ndove participated in various research projects at the Bank of Namibia and in the MEFMI region. He is currently representing the Bank as a Board Member of the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia.

Romeo Nel
Director: Banking Supervision,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Romeo has a Masters Degree in Banking from the University of London, United Kingdom (2013), Postgraduate Certificate in Accountancy from the University of Kwazulu Natal (2005) and Bachelor of Economics from the University of Namibia (1996). Romeo attended specialised training under the Management Development Program of the University of Stellenbosch (2009). Romeo participated in the International Executive Leadership Development Program at the Wits Business School - South Africa, the London School of Business - United Kingdom and the Institute of Management in Bangalore - India (2012). He also attended a wide range of other short technical courses with distinguished and internationally acclaimed regulatory authorities.

Career and Experience: Prior to joining the Bank, he worked at various institutions in various capacities such as Senior Customs Official at the Ministry of Finance until the year 2000 and New Business and Projects Analyst at the Development Fund of Namibia from 1997 to 1998. Before that, he was a Property and Real Estate Consultant, while studying at the University of Namibia. He also held various other temporary job engagements prior to that. Romeo joined the Bank of Namibia as an Assistant Financial Analyst in the Banking Supervision Department in 2000. In 2002, he became a Financial Analyst and was promoted to Senior Financial Analyst in 2003, a position he held until 2006. In 2007, he took charge of one of the newly created technical roles as Principal Financial Analyst before he was elevated to a Deputy Director of Policy and Regulations Division in the Banking Supervision Department in June 2008. Romeo has demonstrated vibrant leadership throughout his career, which resulted in him passing through the ranks with ease. In October 2010, he became the Director of Banking Supervision, emerging from within the ranks of the Banking Supervision Department. Romeo's knowledge and experience in regulatory matters and central banking spans over a period of 12 years. Under the leadership of Romeo in his present role as the Registrar of Banks, he has to ensure the safeguarding and enhancing of Financial Stability, Integrity and Confidence in the Banking Sector as the primary objective.

Florette Nakusera
Director: Research and Financial Stability,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: She holds a Masters and an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Stellenbosch, a Bachelor degree in Commerce majoring in Economics, Management Science and Auditing from the University of Namibia. She also completed an Executive Development Programme (EDP) at the University of Stellenbosch.

Career and Experience: Ms. Nakusera is the Director of Research and Financial Stability Department and Chief Economist at the Bank of Namibia. She joined the Bank as an Economist, before rising through the ranks as Senior Economist and Deputy Director of Research. Ms. Nakusera has over 15 years of experience in the field of economics, of which over 7 years has been in the financial services industry. Ms. Nakusera has written and co-authored numerous articles and papers in the field of macroeconomics. She also serves as a Director on various Boards and Committees.

Michael Mukete
Assistant Governor and
Head of Financial Stability,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Mr. Mukete completed a Master of Science Degree in Investment management at City University Business School in the United Kingdom in 2001. In 1999 he obtained Advanced Diploma in Treasury Management and International Trade Finance from the Institute of Bankers of South Africa. He graduated in 1997 from the University of Namibia with a Bachelor's degree in economics and accounting.

Career and Experience: Mr Mukete joined the Bank in October 1997 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Directorate of Planning where he worked for 8 months as an Agricultural Economist. In the Bank, he started his career in the Department of Financial Markets as a Junior Dealer-in Foreign Exchange and Money Market. He subsequently occupied increasingly senior positions in the department until he became its Director in 2007. Having spent one year in that role, he was reassigned to the Banking Supervision Department as its Director, where he was responsible for regulation and supervision of banking institutions and the Oversight of National Payments Systems as well as Financial System Stability function. He has been serving as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee since 2007. Mr Mukete was appointed as Assistant Governor and Head of Financial Stability with effect from 1 August, 2010. Mr Mukete's assists the Governor in overseeing the Financial Markets, Banking Supervision, Payments Systems, Finance and Administration departments and financial stability function.

Kuruvilla Mathew
Senior Advisor to the Governor,
Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Mr. Mathew has a Masters Degree in Accounting from the University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom and is also a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA, UK). He has also undertaken the International Executive Management Development (IEDP) Programme, from the University of Witwatersrand Business School/London Business School.

Career and Experience: Mr. Kuruvilla Mathew is currently serving as the Senior Advisor to the Governor at the Bank of Namibia. He joined the Bank of Namibia in late 1999 as the Financial Accountant and was promoted to the position of Deputy Director: Finance in 2001. He held this position until he was promoted to the position of Director in 2013. Prior to his engagement with the Bank, he undertook his training with Coopers & Lybrand and then worked in the manufacturing industry. A venture into the lecturing field and business summarizes his engagements prior to joining the Bank.
He was the former Chairman of the Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB) of Namibia.

Ebson N. Uanguta
Deputy Governor, Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Master of Science in Economics (MSc in Economic Policy Analysis) - Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia (1999); Bachelor of Economics (Bachelor of Economics) – University of Namibia (1997). He attended several executive education programmes, including Senior Executive Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, USA (2012); Senior Management Programme, University of Stellenbosch, (2005); Project Management Programme, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2003).

Career and Experience: Mr Uanguta started his career at Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) as a Research Assistant and Junior Researcher (1996). He joined the Bank of Namibia as an Economist in the Research Department in 2000. He became Senior Economist, Deputy Director for Economic Policy Research Division & Modelling and Forecasting Division, between 2002 and 2006. Between 2007 and 2010 he served as an Advisor in the Executive Director’s office at the International Monetary Fund, Washington D.C., USA. He became the Director of Research in 2011, and in 2012 was appointed as the Deputy Governor. Mr Uanguta has written and co-authored research papers and articles, which have been published in-house and in some regional and international journals.

Ipumbu W. Shiimi
Governor, Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Master of Science in Financial Economics (MSc in Fin. Econ) - University of London, United Kingdom (1998), Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Principles from the same University (1995), Diploma in Foreign Trade and Management - Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands (1994), Honours in Economics from the University of Western Cape, South Africa (1993), Bachelor of Commerce in Economics and Accounting from the same University (1992), specialised training in Management Development Program from University of Stellenbosch (2000) and Wits Business School, South Africa (2001). Other specialised training in economics and finance in Tanzania and USA, as well as at the Bank of England and Reserve Bank of South Africa.

Career and Experience: His wealth of knowledge and experience in central banking span from an impressive record of technical and managerial engagement at the Bank of Namibia since 1995. His career started as a Junior Researcher at the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit (NEPRU) in 1994. He joined the Bank of Namibia as a Senior Researcher in the Research Department and became a Manager of the Economics Division in the same department in 1997. In 1999, he became Manager of the Modelling and Forecasting Division in the Research Department. In 2000, he took over as Manager of Statistics Division in the Research Department. In 2001, he became the Deputy Head of Research Department and in 2002 he became Chief Economist and Head of Research Department. In June 2006, Shiimi became a Senior Manager in the Banking Supervision Department. He served in this position until he was appointed as Assistant Governor in November 2006. He occupied this position until March 2010 when he was appointed as Governor of the Bank. During his working career, Shiimi participated in various research projects and co-authored various publications as well as served on various Boards and Committees.

Mr. J. !Gawaxab
Governor, Bank of Namibia

Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (B.A) and Master of Business Leadership, from the University of South Africa; Master of Arts from the Graduate Business School, Kingston; a Certificate in Global Leadership from the London School of Business and has attended an Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Career and Experience: Mr. Johannes !Gawaxab was appointed by President Hage Geingob as Governor of the Bank of Namibia on 21 April 2020 and his term started on 1 June 2020. As Governor, he is also Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bank. He is an accomplished Namibian business leader with an impeccable background and track record in financial services, finance, financial economics, investments and strategy. Prior to his appointment as Governor of the Bank, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Eos Capital, a Namibian Private Equity firm, from its founding in April 2015. Previously, Mr. !Gawaxab worked as a senior executive in financial services spanning banking, investments, insurance, property and casualty, primarily in Southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa. He also worked in Europe. Mr !Gawaxab has served in high profile, senior leadership positions in business and society such as Chairperson of the High Level Panel on the Namibian Economy, Chairperson of the Boards of Old Mutual Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana and Malawi; Chairperson of Rossing Uranium Limited; Chairperson of Namcor and Chairperson of the Social Security Commission.

Brian Eiseb
Director: Exchange Control
and Legal Services

Qualifications: Mr Eiseb holds a LLM with specialization in Corporate Law - University of South Africa, LLB (Honours)- University of Namibia, B. Juris - University of Namibia, National Diploma in Police Science, Specialized Training in Senior Management Development - University of Stellenbosch, Specialized Training in International Executive Development - Wits Business School in conjunction with the London Business School and a Certificate in Forensic Interviewing - Wicklander and Zulawski. He is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of Namibia.

Career and Experience: Mr Eiseb started his professional career as a member of the Namibian Police force from 1989 until 2000 where he held several positions, the most senior position being the Commanding officer of the Drug Law Enforcement Unit. He joined the Diplomatic Security Service and served as Security Advisor to the USA Embassy in Namibia. In 2010 he joined the Bank of Namibia as Deputy Director in the Protection Services Division. From 2012-2015, he served as Acting Director of the Banking Services Department. From 2015-2016, he served as Deputy Director Exchange Control and in 2017 he was promoted as the Director Exchange Control and Legal Services Department.

He is a Director of the Corporate Lawyers Association of Namibia. He served as the Chairperson of the Namibian Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He lectured part time at the Law faculties of the University of Namibia and Southern Business School. He is a member of the Law Society of Namibia. He is a Director of the Namibia Press Agency and serve as chairperson of the Audit Committee. He was previously the Chairperson of Windhoek Pre-Primary School.

Sencia Kaizemi-Rukata
Director: Banking Services

Qualifications: Ms. Sencia Kaizemi-Rukata holds a Master of Commerce degree in Business Management (Cum Laude (2017), Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree (2008) and Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resources Management (2006), from the University of South Africa (UNISA). In addition, she obtained a Diploma in Commerce (2000) and a National Secretarial Certificate (1998) from the Polytechnic of Namibia now known as Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST). In 2016, she completed the Senior Management Development Programme from the University of Stellenbosch. Ms. Kaizemi-Rukata completed specialised training where she obtained a Foundational Certificate in Payments Systems from the Payments Association of South Africa and a Certificate in Fundamentals of Banknote Production from Joh Enschede, Netherlands. Ms. Kaizemi-Rukata is certified as a Competent Communicator by Toastmasters International.

Career and Experience: Ms. Sencia Kaizemi-Rukata is a seasoned banker with 22 years of experience in the corporate, retail (commercial) and central banking environment. She joined the Bank of Namibia in 2012 as Principal Officer: Currency and Banking, in the Banking Services Department. In 2014, she was promoted to the role of Deputy Director: Currency and Banking, in the same Department, where she was responsible for currency management and banking operations, until her recent promotion as Director of the Department effective 01 January 2021.

Prior to joining the Central Bank, Ms. Kaizemi-Rukata worked at Nedbank Namibia, where she held various senior positions of which the latest was Manager: Private Banking. Her professional career started at Deloitte and Touché in 1998, then moved to the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol), City of Windhoek and Polytechnic of Namibia before joining Nedbank Namibia in 2005.

She has notable exposure in leadership and corporate governance evidenced by her service as on the Board of the Payments Association of Namibia, as a Council member and as Chairperson of the Remuneration committee. She previously served as the Chairperson of Omarunga Body Corporate Board of Trustees. Ms. Kaizemi-Rukata is a trustee of the Bank of Namibia Provident Fund and also a committee member of the St Georges Diocesan School Parents & Teachers Fundraising Association. She was recently appointed as the Chairperson of the interim Board of Namibia Post & Telecom Holdings, which is the holding company of MTC, Nampost and Telecom Namibia.

Dr M. Tjirongo
Research Advisor to the Governor

Qualifications: Dr. Tjirongo read economics at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, where he wrote a widely-cited thesis on Exchange Rate Policy Options for Namibia. He also holds MS degree in economics from New Mexico State University, BS degree in Agricultural Business from Iowa State University, and a diploma in agricultural sciences from the University of Botswana and Swaziland. He has attended training in financial programming and policies, macro-econometric modelling and forecasting, negotiation, leadership, managerial and communication skills. Dr. Tjirongo’s research and writings are in exchange rates, exchange rate pass-through, financial inclusion, monetary and regional integration, financial sector development, fiscal policy, sources of growth, pricing of petroleum products, economic adjustment in small open economy, and monetary statistics methodology.

Career and Experience: Dr. M. Tunee Tjirongo has over 25 years experience in research, teaching and economic policy design and implementation. He has extensive experience implementing monetary and exchange rate policies, financial sector policies, fiscal policy, tax reforms, revenue administration, debt management, energy pricing, expenditure policies, public finance management, public-private partnerships, and social protection. Dr. Tjirongo has served the IMF (1999-2013) as desk officer (Tanzania, The Gambia and Eritrea); senior economist providing expert advice on monetary and financial statistics (Barbados, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia, Serbia, and Montenegro) and resident representative for Sierra Leone and The Gambia. He has taught monetary and financial statistics at the IMF Institute and in the Caribbean and Africa. Previously, he had worked at the Bank of Namibia, as Director of Research in the 1990s, the Bank of Botswana and the University of Botswana. He is currently lecturing corporate finance, derivatives and financial markets at the Namibian School of Business.