The savings and domestic investment paradox in Namibia
Namibia has been praised for having one of the largest savings pools in Africa, but the question of where such funds are invested and how they are benefiting Namibians still lingers.
An analysis by The Namibian shows that since 2013, the asset base of non-banking institutions has been growing by an average of N$18 billion per year. Non-banking institutions are typically your pension funds, insurance companies, medical aid funds and friendly societies.
In Namibia, they are regulated by Namibia Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (Namfisa). In its 2019 annual report as recently released, Namifsa said the asset base (savings) of the local economy which is mirrored through these institutions, has grown to N$316,3 billion.
This is a N$25,9 billion growth in a year from N$290,3 billion recorded at the end of 2018. In 2013, the assets base was at N$186 billion.
Furthermore, calculations by The Namibian show that since 2013 the asset base/local savings has been growing on average by N$18,6 billion a year for the past seven years.
The only time this growth plunged below N$18,6 billion was in 2015/16, when it grew by N$9 billion and in 2017/18 when it recorded a growth of N$14,3 billion. In the other years the asset base grew by more than N$20 billion annually.
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