Minister of Finance Ericah Shafudah says the Financial Institutions and Markets Act (FIMA) will strengthen financial sector oversight, improve consumer protection and modernise Namibia’s regulatory framework.
Speaking at the official launch of the legislation, Shafudah described FIMA as a major reform aimed at improving supervision of the non-banking financial sector amid rapid technological change and growing financial market complexity.
The Act, developed together with the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority and supported by the Bank of Namibia, replaces fragmented and outdated financial laws with a single regulatory framework.
“Fellow Namibians, FIMA replaces outdated and fragmented legislation with a single, coherent, and modern legal framework. It responds decisively to the realities of today’s financial environment, an environment characterised by rapid innovation, digitalisation, increasingly complex products, and cross-border activities. This modernised legal framework strengthens regulatory certainty, enhances supervisory effectiveness, aligns Namibia with international best practices, and ensures resilience in the face of emerging risks,” Shafudah said.
According to the Minister, the law is built around three pillars namely financial stability, financial inclusion and consumer protection.
She said the legislation is aimed at protecting pensions and savings, expanding access to financial services and improving fairness and transparency within the financial sector.
“The third pillar is consumer protection. For the first time in our regulatory history, consumer protection is firmly placed at the centre of financial regulation. FIMA strengthens transparency, fairness, disclosure, and the mechanisms available to consumers for complaints and redress. This builds trust, and trust, the cornerstone of any healthy and sustainable financial system,” Shafudah said.
The Minister also addressed concerns over proposed pension preservation regulations, confirming that Regulation RF.R.5.10 has been placed on hold following public consultations conducted across all 14 regions.
“Many Namibians felt strongly that the proposed regulation, in the form in which it was contemplated, did not adequately reflect their lived realities, their household circumstances, or the social compact between worker, employer, and State,” she said.
Shafudah added that current retirement benefit commutation rules and existing lump-sum entitlements under the Income Tax Act remain unchanged.
FIMA and the NAMFISA Act of 2021 officially came into operation on 1 May 2026, although some provisions have temporarily been held in abeyance to allow for a phased implementation process.
