Staff Writer
Five non-executive directors of the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) received a combined N$757 621 in retainers and sitting fees during the 2024/25 financial year, while the fund struggled with student loan accounting and repayment tracking.
According to the fund’s annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025, the payments were lower than the N$795 922 recorded in the previous financial year.
Board chairperson Stephen Tjiuoro received N$134 378, while deputy chairperson Adda Angula received N$157 008. Director Isaack Neema received N$156 127, Tulimeke Munyika received N$145 231 and Ndeulipula Hamutumwa received N$164 877.
The report presents the payments as combined retainers and sitting fees, without separately breaking down the two components.
The payments come as Auditor-General Junias Kandjeke raised concerns about the fund’s financial reporting, the measurement of its student loan book and delays in allocating loan repayments to individual accounts.
The audit report states that NSFAF’s student loan book amounted to N$11.70 billion at the end of March 2025.
However, the auditors found that the fund had not measured the loan book at amortised cost as required by International Public Sector Accounting Standard 41, which governs the measurement of financial instruments.
The report also identified an expected credit loss allowance of N$5.34 billion on student loans, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the recoverability of the debt.
A further concern involved the migration of the fund’s Acumatica (Aculoan) system, which delayed the allocation of repayments to individual student accounts.
As a result, N$20.26 million in repayments remained in a clearing account at year-end, unallocated to borrowers’ accounts.
The auditors said the moratorium affecting the system, which also had implications for interest calculations and loan balances, had not been disclosed in the financial statements.
Management indicated that reconciliations were being conducted outside the system, but auditors said no supporting documentation or consolidated listing was provided to verify the process.
Requested debtor statements were also not supplied.
The auditors further raised concerns about the presentation of comparative financial information, saying the fund had not adequately disclosed the impact of reclassifications and restatements on affected financial statement items.
The report also noted that the financial statements were submitted to the Auditor-General in October 2025, after the statutory deadline of 31 July 2025.
