The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has confirmed an impairment loss of N$815 million from its investment in the South African-based Signal Structured Finance Fund, following a tax dispute involving the South African Revenue Service.

The latest loss has drawn renewed attention to the fund’s history of risky investments. 

Thirteen years ago, the Development Capital Portfolio (DCP) recorded massive losses. 

A Namfisa audit in 2006 revealed that N$661 million was lost through DCP investments, while a Cabinet-ordered independent audit in 2010 found losses amounting to N$400 million, plus an estimated N$160 million in potential interest that could have been earned had the funds been properly invested.

With the recent loss of close to a billion dollars, GIPF Chief Executive Officer Martin Inkumbi said the loss represents only 0.4% of its total assets and stressed that the Fund remains financially strong, with total assets growing to N$199.4 billion by September 2025.

As of September 2025, the fund’s total assets stood at N$199.4 billion, reflecting continued growth.

Mahongora Kavihuha, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia, expressed frustration, saying the fund appears to be downplaying the gravity of losing public money.

“The GIPF is now becoming an institution where losing money becomes an order of the day without any remorse for those who are interested in looking after these workers’ money. We have just lost 600 million, which the prosecutor general failed to prosecute. Now we are losing 800 million plus, which the CEO is playing with like a chess game. So we want a proper explanation of how this money gets lost.”

The GIPF maintains that it conducts extensive due diligence before awarding investment mandates and that such impairments are part of normal accounting practice in long-term investment management.

Meanwhile, the Popular Democratic Movement has demanded immediate accountability from the GIPF after it reportedly lost about N$800 million in investments. 

The party has urged Parliament’s Standing Committee on Economics to summon GIPF’s leadership to explain the loss, identify those responsible, and detail recovery plans. 

PDM said the repeated controversies around GIPF’s management of pensioners’ funds raise serious concerns about governance and transparency, insisting that Namibians deserve clear answers.