By Dr. Penny Tuna Magdalena Uukunde
Namibia has spent the past year celebrating a series of financial victories.
We repaid the US$750 million Eurobond. We cleared our IMF obligations. We exited the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list after addressing deficiencies in our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems.
These achievements deserve recognition. They required planning, discipline and execution. They strengthened Namibia’s credibility and demonstrated that we can meet complex financial commitments.
But they have also created a misunderstanding.
Many people hear these developments and assume risk has disappeared.
It has not.
The risk has moved.
Over the past decade, Namibia has gradually shifted from external borrowing towards domestic borrowing. Today, domestic debt accounts for roughly 85% of government debt, while foreign debt has fallen to around 15%. Government borrowing from domestic banks rose sharply over the past year, reaching N$52.4 billion by April 2026.
This shift brings important benefits. It reduces exposure to foreign currency shocks, strengthens financial autonomy and keeps more interest payments circulating within the domestic economy.
Yet every solution creates a new challenge.
The question is no longer whether Namibia can repay debt. We have already answered that question.
The question is whether we can convert stability into transformation.
A country can improve its credit profile and still struggle to create jobs. It can satisfy international benchmarks while unemployment remains high and poverty persists. Financial credibility and broad-based prosperity are not the same thing.
The numbers tell a mixed story. Namibia remains stable, but growth remains modest and unemployment remains stubbornly high.
We are stable.
We are not yet dynamic.
That is the challenge confronting policymakers, businesses and citizens alike.
The Bank of Namibia has repeatedly highlighted the importance of monitoring sovereign bank linkages. Put simply, as government borrowing becomes increasingly concentrated within the domestic financial system, fiscal stability and banking sector stability become more closely connected.
This is not a prediction of crisis.
It is a reminder that risk has not disappeared. It has changed location.
At the same time, Namibia stands on the threshold of significant opportunity.
Oil and gas discoveries in the Orange Basin continue to attract global attention. Green hydrogen projects are advancing. New investments are being discussed across energy, logistics and infrastructure.
The opportunities are real.
But resources alone do not transform nations.
Institutions do.
History offers many examples of countries blessed with extraordinary natural wealth that failed to convert it into broad-based prosperity. It also offers examples of countries that transformed resource wealth into long term development through strong institutions, disciplined governance and strategic planning.
The difference was never geology.
The difference was governance.
The Sixth National Development Plan provides an ambitious vision for growth, employment and industrialisation. The challenge is not ambition. Namibia has never suffered from a shortage of plans.
Our challenge has been delivery.
In a country of three million people, every policy failure is personal.
A delayed project is not merely a statistic. It is a graduate unable to find work. A farmer waiting for infrastructure. A small business struggling to access opportunity.
Likewise, every policy success is personal. It creates jobs, expands possibilities and strengthens trust in our institutions.
Namibia has demonstrated that it can repay debt. It has demonstrated that it can meet international standards. It has demonstrated that it can manage complex financial obligations.
The next test is harder.
Can we build institutions capable of managing success?
The risk has moved.
Our attention must move with it.
