Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa says other government institutions, including the financial regulator and company registration agency, should also play their role in the fight against corruption to avoid international sanctions.
Noa was responding to Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab last week saying the country’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the police, and the ACC are falling short of meeting international standards, potentially exposing the country to sanctions.
He specifically mentioned the Business Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) and Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa).
!Gawaxab said if the ACC, the Financial Intelligence Centre and the Namibian Police do not strengthen their approach against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the country risks being grey listed.
South Africa and Nigeria are the latest African countries to be added to the grey list, which is maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
Namibia, as a member of the United Nations (UN), is on the list of countries to be assessed regarding compliance.
Noa yesterday said: “You must understand that grey listing is not necessarily because of a lack of effectiveness by the law-enforcement agencies.
“Remember, there are other institutions that deal with these regulations as well. You have Namfisa, you have Bipa, you have all these institutions.”
“The law must be changed in the country, it’s not just about investigations. It’s about other institutions and systems which are not really in place as I speak to you now.”
He said Bipa and Namfisa do not have the necessary systems in place to ensure information is speedily communicated to the relevant authorities.
“We are hard at work to do the best we can to avoid being grey listed,” he said.
Bipa chief executive officer Vivienne Katjiuongua said: “I think it should not be reported as if one person is not doing what. The assessment that was done on all of us said the country is not where it should be.
Our laws must be updated so that we can provide sufficient information. So, all of us are working together. You must get the report from the Risk Assessment Committee which has identified all that has been done, and the governor is the chairperson of that. The law must be amended so that we can collect information which should be available. So, all systems are being put together so that we all comply.
The mutual evaluation report is out and it says who must do what when.”
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said she could not comment on Namibia’s chances of being grey listed.
“The Namibian Police, the FIC, and the ACC will sign an agrement on Tuesday (today), and I think it will also speak to aspects of this,” she said.
ACTS NEED AMENDMENT
!Gawaxab last week, while announcing changes to the repo rate, said: “We have been assessed and we have been found wanting on five out of 11 outcomes. We have been told, you need to fix those.
“That means we need to amend 11 acts we have currently, and we need to come up with two new ones.”
The two new laws relate to virtual assets and virtual asset providers, while others involve trust, he said.
The FIC is spearheading the drive to ensure that Namibia meets the necessary compliance levels, he said.
!Gawaxab said the Namibian Police must investigate cases, the Office of the Prosecutor General must prosecute culprits, and the ACC must move with equal speed.
Other stakeholders tasked with ensuring Namibia is able to demonstrate its regime is up to standard are the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, as well as the FIC, he said.
The Bank of Namibia last year briefed the Cabinet on what needs to be done to avoid the grey list, as well as on the need to update 11 of Namibia’s laws and to establish two more.
!Gawaxab said he believes grey listing can be avoided.
NEGATIVE IMPACT
According to the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), headquartered in South Africa, grey listing has substantially negative effects on a country’s economy, and discourages investment.
“An International Monetary Fund study estimates that countries have on average experienced capital outflows equal to 7,6% of gross domestic product after grey-listing,” the ISS says.
The United States (US) government has imposed financial and other sanctions on four South Africans thought to be channelling funds to the Islamic State in Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa, the ISS says.
But !Gawaxab submitted that progress was being made in Namibia.
“There are some special courts that have been put up to deal with some of these cases. Grey listing is not good for the country. It’s going to impact trade; it leads to an increased risk premium of Namibia; borrowing costs would increase; cross-border transaction costs would increase; and it would limit the country’s ability to do business effectively,” he said.
Grey listing would also mean financial institutions and borrowers in Namibia would be subjected to undue diligence procedures by international financial institutions.
