CHAMWE KAIRA
The Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) recovered just N$21.5 million in student loans during the 2024/25 financial year, representing less than 1% of its total student debtors, while its loan book carried an expected credit loss allowance of N$5.3 billion.
Auditor-General Junias Kandjeke raised concerns about the fund’s loan recovery processes, accounting practices and record-keeping in a qualified audit opinion on its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The report found that many student loan accounts remained in long-standing arrears, with no documentary evidence demonstrating that NSFAF consistently undertook effective recovery actions or traced debtors.
The fund’s student loan book stood at approximately N$11.7 billion. However, auditors found that borrower information had not been validated against national databases, limiting the fund’s ability to establish the status of its debtors.
Internal tracing had already identified deceased borrowers with outstanding debt of N$1.3 million, according to the report.
The findings raise concerns about the fund’s ability to recover money owed by former beneficiaries and the reliability of information used to manage its loan portfolio.
The audit also identified N$20.3 million in student loan repayments that remained unallocated in a clearing account at the end of the financial year.
The outstanding allocation was linked to delays caused by a moratorium on the migration to the Acumatica, or Aculoan, system.
The system freeze delayed the allocation of repayments to individual student loan accounts, leaving the fund unable to reconcile the payments fully.
Auditors said management failed to provide supporting records or consolidated listings to verify the transactions outside the system. The fund also did not provide requested debtor statements to the audit team.
The unallocated repayments complicate the verification of individual loan balances and the reconciliation of amounts received against what borrowers owe.
Beyond loan recoveries, the Auditor-General raised concerns about the accounting treatment of NSFAF’s N$11.7 billion loan book.
The fund had failed to measure the loans at amortised cost as required by International Public Sector Accounting Standard IPSAS 41, according to the report.
Auditors also identified inadequate disclosures relating to the restatement and reclassification of previous financial figures, including changes involving disability grant subsidies and operational expenditure.
Accrued expenses of N$5.2 million were also not adequately supported by detailed vendor listings, invoices or statements.
NSFAF also missed the statutory deadline for submitting its financial statements to the Auditor-General.
The accounting officer submitted the statements in October 2025, three months after the 31 July 2025 deadline prescribed under the Public Enterprise Governance Act.
The audit further found that the fund had failed to conduct mandatory mid-year staff performance reviews as required by its internal human resources guidelines, completing only one annual performance review cycle.
The findings cover the final financial year before NSFAF’s reintegration into the ministry of education, innovation, youth, sports, arts and culture.
The fund ceased operating as a standalone statutory entity on 28 February 2026, following its absorption into the ministry.
