Team size: Twenty-one professional staff members

I have no direct legal supervisor – I report the Deputy CEO.

What are the most significant cases, projects, and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

During the past year, we finalised the consultation and drafting of the Consumer Credit Bill, a landmark legislative project spearheaded by our legal team in collaboration with multiple inter-governmental departments, the general public, and industry associations.

The Bill’s purpose is to consolidate, harmonise, and reform the laws regulating the provision of credit and credit agreements. Key objectives include:

• establishing consumer credit regulators

• providing for the regulation of credit providers, credit bureaus, and debt

collectors

• regulating credit agreements for both movable and immovable goods and

services

• limiting and ensuring the disclosure of interest rates, costs, and fees

• promoting responsible lending, borrowing practices, and market conduct.

This Bill is of paramount significance as it will, for the first time in Namibia, provide regulatory oversight for credit provision and debt collection, thereby protecting the most vulnerable members of society. It is anticipated that once the subordinate legislation is finalised, the Bill will be tabled in Parliament at the end of 2026.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organization’s resilience?

As a State-Owned Entity (SOE), NAMFISA is subject to political changes within our line ministry, the Ministry of Finance, which occur at least every five years. Experience has shown that new ministerial appointments often bring shifts in government objectives, policies, and priorities.

In my role as an advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, the Legal Services department takes the lead in engaging with ministry officials when this change happens. Our focus is to align and streamline national priority items that require legal execution, ensuring the organisation remains resilient and consistent despite external political transitions.

Have you had any experiences during your career as a lawyer that stand out as particularly unique or interesting?

I had the privilege of being the first — and so far, only — President of the Law Society of Namibia to come from the corporate world (2015/2016). During my tenure, we established the National Free Legal Advice Day project, which continues to provide free legal advice (nationally) to the public today.

Additionally, I am currently the first and only Chairperson of the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund to be appointed from the corporate sector. During my leadership, we have been able to significantly increase the Fund’s assets, strengthening the financial security of the Fund.

Finally, in 2022, I established Lawyer Up Namibia – a web subscription platform that links clients with lawyers with no consultation rate – www.lawyerupnamibia.com

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on that you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful of?

A critical trend is the rising cost of engaging external legal practitioners at a time when internal resources are increasingly limited. I believe in-house counsel must investigate innovative fee structures collectively. We need to move away from traditional billable hours in favour of more predictable models, such as project-based costs or capped fees, to ensure sustainable legal support.