##bit and credit cards, electronic funds transfers, point of sale and automated teller machines. the importance placed on these instruments is its liquidity, which relates especially to general acceptability and marketability, with little or no risk of capital loss. these payment instruments must be cleared and this is done normally through a clearing process that will allow settlement to take place. in namibia, niss is currently settling obligations resulting from domestic cheques and high - value interbank payments. the remaining payment streams i. e. cards and electronic payments will follow at a later stage. this means that the annual turnover in the niss is still quite small : in 2003 the ratio of settlement turnover to gdp was about 7 : 1, compared to ratio of more than 30 : 1 in south africa. apart from the domestic cheque clearance, most domestic and cross - border payments arrangements and clearing systems are still integrated and intertwined in the south african payment system, making use of various payment and clearing services through bankserv, the south african inter - bank payment services utility company. the namibian clearing project is therefore aimed at designing, developing and installing systems that will support paper, card and electronic transactions through namibianised systems. the clearing system project is primarily driven by the commercial banks in accordance with a high - level project plan has been approved by all parties. the clearing system steering committee has agreed to appoint a project adviser to assist in defining the system architecture, preparing a request - for - proposal ( rfp ) and evaluating the system proposals. the electronic funds transfer ( eft ) system should be operational at the end of may 2004. by october 2004 the eft and cheque streams should be migrated to the new platform ( namclear ) and fully integrated with the settlement system. all current paper, card or electronic based transactions will continue to be offered to the public and businesses. the significant difference, however, is the fact that all these transactions will be supported by namibian systems. moreover, cheque clearance should be much faster than is currently the case, meaning that beneficiaries will obtain quick value for cheque payments. people and businesses that make and receive payments will have the advantage of improved cash flows, which may further stimulate trade and the velocity of money in circulation. one area where further consideration will have to be given is transactions to and from south africa. at the time when namibian payment systems become operational and namibia no longer depends on south african payment systems, cross - border payments will have

ipumbu shiimi : regulating competition in the namibian banking sector welcoming and special remarks by mr ipumbu shiimi, governor of the bank of namibia, at the signing of the memorandum of agreement between the bank of namibia and the namibia competition commission, windhoek, 1 february 2012. * * * introduction the chairperson of namibia competition commission – mr lucius murorua, the secretary to the competition commission – mr mihe gaomab, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, on this occasion when the two regulatory authorities are going to sign a historical agreement, i am delighted to welcome first and foremost the chairman of the namibia competition commission, the secretary and indeed every one present here today on this “ terrific weatherful day ”. it is indeed a good omen and fortunate coincidence that this important event takes place today. allow me, now to briefly reflect on some of the developments over the years, with particular emphasis on those that brought both the competition commission and the bank of namibia to the point where these authorities are signing an agreement. as we all know, the competition law has a short history in namibia. the first attempts in namibia on matters of competition were made with the promulgation of the namibia competition legislation in 2003, which only became effective in 2008. you will also agree with me that, the competition law is an essential tool that does not only recognise the importance of guiding the market conduct on competition matters, but, it also acknowledges that competition provides the incentive for businesses to become more innovative, highly productive, and efficient in their operations, thus, contributing to improvement in socio economic development of our country. at the same time, the bank of namibia as the regulator of banking institutions has the mandate to administer agreements between banking institutions that may restrict competition or that may be anti - competitive. effectively, this means that the bank of namibia has the power to regulate matters of competition in the banking sector. in the past, the mergers and acquisitions provision in section 54 of the banking institutions act of 1998, as amended fulfilled an important role in preserving the effectiveness of the competitive process by preventing mergers and acquisitions, which may substantially lessen competition in banking sector, while at the same time allowing mergers that do not lessen competition to go ahead. however, with the introduction of an effective regulatory framework, namely the competition act of 2003 that will guard against anti - competitive behaviour and restrain banking institutions from engaging in restrictive business practices, the bank of namibia recognised the broader mandate of the competition commission