Understudy gap sinks Namfisa AA submission

The Employment Equity Commission (EEC) has rejected the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority’s (Namfisa) 2026 affirmative action report after finding that the regulator failed to appoint an understudy as required by law, despite attempts to secure an exemption.

The finding emerged during a review panel hearing on Wednesday, where EEC review officer Dominga Murenga outlined the shortcomings that led to the report’s disapproval.

Murenga said Namfisa submitted its report in February, after which she reviewed it and issued a disapproval on 31 March.

She said the submission was initially delayed while Namfisa sought an exemption, which was unsuccessful.

“The report was disapproved because Namfisa was in contravention of Section 19(3) of the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act,” she said.

Murenga told the hearing that during an affirmative action training session at Namfisa in February 2026, officials indicated they were unaware they needed to apply for an exemption if no understudy could be appointed.

She said Namfisa previously had an understudy for an actuarial specialist, but the understudy left in 2023.

She added that Namfisa had awarded a bursary to an actuarial science student in Cape Town and informed the commission it had no suitable permanent employee to develop into an understudy. The commission advised the entity to apply for an exemption if no understudy could be appointed.

"At the time of submitting the AA Report, only a few days remained before the deadline, and the exemption process had not yet been finalised," she explained.

Namfisa later said supporting documentation was still awaiting evaluation by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA).

Dire shortage

Responding on behalf of Namfisa, deputy chief executive officer for market conduct and operations Johannes Smit said the institution remained committed to employment equity and developing local talent.

"The issue before the panel is not a reluctance to appoint an understudy, but rather the exceptional scarcity of qualified actuaries in Namibia," Smit said.

He said Namfisa had invested in bursaries, graduate development programmes and actuarial training to build local capacity, but recruitment efforts had yielded limited results due to shortages in the profession.

He said Namfisa began the exemption process after receiving guidance from the EEC in February, but delays in qualification verification slowed completion.

Namfisa human resources manager Russell Mufaya said the regulator had partnered with local universities to develop actuarial skills, noting high dropout rates and difficulty retaining professionals due to private-sector competition.

However, he said progress had since been made. "As we speak today, interviews were conducted earlier this year," Mufaya said.

He disclosed that a Namibian candidate had initially declined the actuarial position but later accepted after Namfisa introduced a scarcity allowance.

"The individual is expected to commence employment with Namfisa on 1 August. Once the individual has assumed duty, an understudy will be appointed accordingly," he said.