Thomas Kavaningilamo Alweendo (born 17 March 1958 in Omusheshe, Oshana Region) is a Namibian politician who has been Minister of Mines and Energy since 2018. In 1997, he became the first Namibian Governor of the Bank of Namibia when he replaced Jafaar bin Ahmad of Malaysia.

Tom Alweendo
Tom Alweendo in 2024
Minister of Mines and Energy
Assumed office
8 February 2018
PresidentHage Geingob
Prime MinisterSaara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Preceded byObeth Kandjoze
Minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission
In office
21 March 2010 – 8 February 2018
PresidentHifikepunye Pohamba
Hage Geingob
Prime MinisterHage Geingob
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila
Preceded byHelmut Angula
Succeeded byObeth Kandjoze
Governor of the Bank of Namibia
In office
1 January 1997 – 25 March 2010
PresidentSam Nujoma
Hifikepunye Pohamba
Prime MinisterHage Geingob
Theo-Ben Gurirab
Nahas Angula
Preceded byJaafar Ahmad
Succeeded byIpumbu Shiimi
Personal details
Born (1958-03-17) 17 March 1958 (age 66)
Omusheshe, Oshana Region, South West Africa (now Namibia)
Alma materUniversity of the Witwatersrand
University of Wales

In 2010, Alweendo was appointed to lead the National Planning Commission. When Hage Geingob took office as president in March 2015, he confirmed Alweendo in his position.[1] In a cabinet reshuffle in February 2018, Alweendo became Minister of Mines and Energy, swapping positions with Obeth Kandjoze.[2]

Education edit

Alweendo earned a bachelor's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.[3]

As governor of the Bank of Namibia, he maintained the Namibian dollar's linkage with the South African rand. Among some of his achievements during his tenure at the Bank of Namibia are the localization of the payments and banking systems and the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Center.[4] He also raised concerns about increasing amounts of government debt and questioned whether expenditures on education produced better results.[5][6]

In March 2022, Alweendo signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDol) with the minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action of the Federal Republic of Germany, Robert Habeck, to collaborate on accelerating the development of Namibia's green hydrogen ambitions.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ Immanuel, Shinovene; Mongudhi, Tileni (20 March 2015). "Costly Democracy". The Namibian. pp. 1–2.
  2. ^ Matthys, Donald (8 February 2018). "President reshuffles Cabinet—Vice President relieved of duties". Namibia Economist.
  3. ^ "Alweendo, Thomas K." Parliament of Namibia. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Hon. Tom ALWEENDO | SACREEE". www.sacreee.org. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  5. ^ Tom Alweendo Namibia Institute for Democracy Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Ministry of Mines and Energy - Organisational Structure". www.mme.gov.na. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  7. ^ "Namibia: Grassroots to Benefit From Green Hydrogen". allAfrica.com. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-07-29.