!Gawaxab scores better as BoN governor

Johannes !Gawaxab, governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN), has received a better rating on Global Finance’s annual Central Bankers Report Cards 2022.

!Gawaxab, who succeed Iipumbu Shiimi (currently minister of finance) as the governor of the BoN in 2020, achieved a “C” on his report card this year, an improvement from the “D+” he received in 2021.

Grades in the ranking are based on a scale of “A” to “F” for success in areas such as inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management.

A total of 24 central bank governors in Africa were rated this year by Global Finance. !Gawaxab came in 15th.

“At the beginning of the year, governor Johannes !Gawaxab began serving a fresh five-year term at Bank of Namibia (BoN); but with external shocks and economic upheavals, the new term opens in a difficult period,” Global Finance said.

BoN has largely focused on containing inflation and maintaining price stability this year, with continuous hiking of the repo rate, also aimed at safeguarding the one-to-one link between the Namibian dollar and the South African rand, according to Global Finance.

“In undertaking its mandates, BoN has been keen to benchmark with peers. For this reason, governor !Gawaxab has been visiting peers in Africa to strengthen collaboration, including on emerging trends like digital currencies and carry out stress tests,” it said.

Scores of other central bank governors in Africa were: South Africa (A); Mauritius (A-); Morocco (A-); Rwanda (B+), Angola (B); Botswana (B); Kenya (B); Central African States (B); Gambia (B-); Ghana (B-); Tanzania (B-); Zambia (C+); Mozambique (C+); Tunisia (C); Nigeria (C-); Zambia (D+); Madagascar (D+); and Ethiopia (D).

According to Global Finance, it was too early to rate the governors from Algeria, Egypt, West African States and Mauritania. In Uganda, the position of governor is vacant.

Only three central bankers in Africa made the top 20 global list: Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, governor of the Bank of Mauritius, and Abdellatif Jouahri, governor of the Central Bank of Morocco.