Experience and youth join BoN’s policy frontline

The Bank of Namibia (BoN) this week announced the appointment of Dr. John Steytler and Helvi Filipus to its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), effective immediately.

Steytler, a veteran economist and former BoN Chief Economist and Director of Research, returns to the central bank following a high-profile career in the public and development sectors. His professional history includes tenures as the chief executive officer of the Development Bank of Namibia, economic advisor to the President, and the founding statistician-general of the Namibia Statistics Agency.

Joining him on the committee is Helvi Filipus, who becomes the youngest member in the MPC’s history. A specialist in macroeconomic research and financial markets, Filipus is a product of the BoN’s internal talent development program. She rose through the ranks from researcher to deputy director of investments and domestic markets.

More recently, Filipus served as the economic advisor to the minister of finance, where she played a substantive role in fiscal policy development and the compilation of the national budget. She currently serves as an Economic Advisor at the central bank, providing expert analysis to support monetary policy formulation.

Commenting on the appointments, central bank Governor Ebson Uanguta stated that the inclusion of Steytler and Filipus would bring fresh perspectives to the bank’s decision-making framework.

“Our mandate to safeguard price stability is vital to maintaining the value of the Namibia Dollar as it circulates in the hands of everyday Namibians,” Uanguta said. “Achieving this sets a strong foundation for all economic actors to collaborate toward sustainable growth, development, and the diversification of our economy.”