I found the po-faced half-page ad (how much did this cost)




from the Bank of Namibia, last Friday, comprising stern, finger-wagging admonishments on Illegal Trading in Foreign Currency, howlingly funny. Does the Bank realise that most financially sophisticated countries have abolished exchange control years ago, and those which retain it are a few obscure 3rd world territories and those whom names end with 'stan' !

This is for the simple reason that, in this age of electronic transactions and on-line purchases, countries can no more control the movement of curency across their borders than they can control wind blowing across them.

The whole issue (of exchange control) seems to take us back to the age of saddle-bags filled with gold sovereigns. In fact, we are told that these provisions stem from Regulation 2(1) of the Exchange Control Regulations Act of 1961 (!!). Has nobody thought of updating the regulations since then? I mean, the world's financial system has changed a bit since 1961, the height of the apartheid era and the Bretton Woods regime.

Even in South Africa, business people can freely operate bank accounts in US dollars, Euros or whatever, whether locally or off-shore, and I have no doubt that Nambians who are not totally isolated do the same. What about all the Angolans here whose prime currency is the US dollar, and the lodges who 'prefer' payment in Euro. Will they all be arrested? Are they all 'terrorists'? But according to the theory, anyone in Namibia who comes into contact with foreign currency (dirty, nasty, horrible stuff!) must turn it in and wash their hands by the next business day.
So I suggest the BON save money on ridiculous ads, and move into the 21st century.