Staff Reporter
THE Governor of the Bank of Namibia (BoN), Johannes !Gawaxab, has apologised for the backlash surrounding the new N$1 coin — controversially dubbed the ‘Outere Dollar’ — but emphasised that the Bank is not responsible for the coin’s nickname.
“It (the name) did not originate in the Bank of Namibia; it originated on the social media feeds. So, on behalf of the bank, I can only offer apologies, if the name that’s been ascribed through social media to some of our coins have offended or insulted some people. That’s not our making, but I think we are mature enough that it doesn’t harm to say ‘apologies’,” he said.
He made these remarks during BoN’s recent Repo Rate announcement in Windhoek. !Gawaxab acknowledged that the coin’s controversial nickname has offended some people due to its negative connotations — particularly towards speakers of the Khoekhoegowab language. However, he emphasised that, as a Khoekhoegowab speaker himself, the Bank never intended for the coin to be associated with that name.
“So, on behalf of the Bank of Namibia and someone who is speaking Khoekhoe language, it is so incomprehensible that I could associate my own language with the negative narrative that’s given to this coin. I cannot disown myself. It’s who I am, and it’s not good if people start saying things that are totally not right. It did not originate in the Bank of Namibia; it originated on the social media feeds,” he said.
He again emphasised that the coin’s design — featuring two hands exchanging coins — is intended to symbolise retail in transition.
“That’s the official position of the Bank of Namibia. Unfortunately, social media feeds start attributing their own descriptions and explanations of our designs and the motives, and we have not control over that. And the unfortunate part is that people call it names that are not easy to repeat,” the Governor added.
