and human trafficking. crime and money laundering is indeed a global problem which requires a concerted global response. in order to protect our respective financial systems from the destabilizing effects of crime and money laundering, it is imperative that we act and respond to this scourge with unprecedented resolve and commitment to combating it. everybody has, therefore, a responsibility to combat money laundering, because its negative impact has a unique way of creating far ranging negative consequences. by tackling money laundering we would be attacking the criminals at their weakest and most vulnerable point - their money sources. in the past years since the start of the criminalization of money laundering and the enforcement of anti money laundering laws in the 1970s and more vigorously in the 1980s and 1990s, evidence from court cases and reported suspect transaction has given an indication that the most common money laundering typologies has been in the realm of drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption, illicit dealing in weapons, human trafficking, fraud and theft. the act of successful money laundering fuels the perpetration of the above crimes by providing the criminals with avenues to conceal their deeds from law enforcement agencies and ultimately provides them with the rewards for their criminality in the form of money which would then appear to be legitimate. the concealment cycle for the proceeds of money laundering involves, firstly, the distancing of the criminals from the illegal proceeds ( money or property ), the obscuring of the money trail, hiding of the origins to eventually posses what would appear as clean money. the role played by globalization and ict in the concealment process in money laundering has been aptly described by the following quote from a central banking thriller “ nest of vipers ” by linda davies : “ the money screamed across the wires, its provenance fading in a maze of electronic transfers which shifted it, hid it, broke it up into manageable wads which would be withdrawn and re - deposited elsewhere, obliterating the trail ”. the linkage between money laundering and crime denotes that everybody as individuals is affected by money laundering. crime erodes basic individual liberties in that it threatens their rights to life and entitlement to property. the consequences of crime and money laundering are bad for business, development, and the general rule of law. governments have therefore got real reasons for spearheading the combating of money laundering. another reason why money laundering should be combated is that if left unchecked, it would lead to the accumulation of economic power to

ipumbu shiimi : national payment system vision 2015 launch speech by mr ipumbu shiimi, governor of the bank of namibia, at the launch of the national payment system vision 2015, windhoek, 5 april 2011. * * * director of ceremonies mr. ian leyenaar, representing mr. erastus hoveka the president of bankers association of namibia, dr. gift kavari chairperson of the payments association of namibia members of the banking industry members of the media distinguished invited guests, ladies and gentlemen good morning it is with great pleasure to welcome you all here today to witness the launch of the national payment system ( nps ) vision 2015 for namibia. let me first use this opportunity to thank the banking industry for their respective contributions in the process of finalizing the vision document. without your input we would not have achieved this milestone. much has been achieved since the development of the first nps vision and strategy in the year 2000, and although i do not want to detail these achievements, there are a few major milestones which are worth highlighting : the first major milestone was reached on 10 june 2002, when the namibia inter - bank settlement system ( niss ) was implemented, enabling banks to settle their obligations with each other immediately, the so - called real time gross settlement system ( rtgs ). the second milestone was reached with the promulgation of the payment system management act in december 2003. the act provides the bank with the mandate to oversee and monitor the payment system ; the third major milestone was reached during 2004 – 2005 with the establishment of the automated clearing house, namclear, which localised the clearing and processing of the electronic funds transfer system ( eft ) and cheque processing system ; the payment association of namibia ( pan ) was established in 2005 to manage the affairs of its members in relation to payment instructions, but also to act as a medium of communication with the different stakeholders, namely the bank, public bodies, the media and even the general public. finally, perhaps one of the most important achievements in the nps recently was the establishment of namibian card switch, namswitch in november 2008, enabling the clearing and settlement of namibian card transactions locally. director of ceremonies the payment system is dynamic and new demands and opportunities arise as a result of market requirements and technological developments. therefore, new challenges are facing the nps, hence a new strategic direction is required. it is against this background that the bank in collaboration with the banking industry has