Windhoek: The Head of the Namibia Deposit Guarantee Authority (NDGA), Florette Nakusera, announced that the authority is currently reviewing the possibility of increasing its guaranteed coverage limit. Nakusera made this statement during a courtesy visit to the Governor of the Kavango East Region, Hamunyera Hambyuka, on Monday.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the NDGA, which operates under the Bank of Namibia, currently guarantees depositors coverage of up to N.dollars 25,000 in the event of a bank failure. “The NDGA ensures that if a bank is liquidated, depositors will be compensated up to N.dollars 25,000 within seven to 30 working days,” Nakusera explained.

She mentioned that the NDGA is an independent body with its own board of directors and was established by the government in 2018 to manage a deposit guarantee scheme. It serves as a financial safety net, protecting depositors from total losses if a member financial institution collapses.

During the visit, Nakusera and her team emphasized the importance of depositing money in banks rather than keeping it at home, where it is vulnerable to theft. “We want to educate the public that keeping money in a bank is not only safer but also protected. Should anything happen to the bank, the NDGA guarantees a payout of up to N.dollars 25,000,” she said.

As part of its outreach efforts, the NDGA will continue its engagement in the region, with visits scheduled for Rundu, Divundu, and Ndiyona. The team will meet with commercial banks, their branches, and the general public to raise awareness about the scheme and its benefits.

NDGA Manager of Operations, Petrus Shifotoka, added that financial institutions can fail globally, often taking depositors’ money with them. “This is why the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Namibia established the NDGA in 2018. If any of the seven commercial banks operating in Namibia were to fail, depositors would be compensated in a swift and transparent manner,” he said.

Shifotoka stressed that the NDGA aims to reach small depositors in particular, as they are often the most vulnerable and least informed in such situations.