Banks say they will help churches with registration process
Non-profit organisations have been granted an extension until October 31 to register with the FIC and comply with new legislation.
Several churches were upset last week when the Bank of Namibia's (BoN) Centre for Financial Intelligence (FIC) reportedly instructed banks to freeze their bank accounts, only to revoke the instruction on Friday afternoon.Postponement for registration was then also given until 31 October "with banks that will assist individual customers to register" in terms of the Financial Intelligence Amendment Act no. 6 of 2023.
This comes after the FIC initially insisted that all non-profit organisations in Namibia had to be registered by 29 September and comply with strict declaration measures about their financial affairs. This is so that the FIC can allegedly determine whether an organisation runs a risk of financing terrorist activities or being used for money laundering.
The Namibian Council of Churches (CCN)'s Dr André September said in a message to churches on Friday that he had a conversation with the BoN's deputy governor on Friday morning after he was informed that the bank accounts of several religious organisations had been frozen.
September says he was informed on Friday afternoon that the order would be revoked immediately. Rather than applying punitive measures, the banks will now assist in the registration process, he said.
September added that concerned churches should be informed accordingly.
No official statement
On Friday morning, our sister publication Republikein contacted the BoN's spokesperson, Josefina Oskar, who said that a media statement would be issued in this regard soon. So far, no statement has been received.
Rev. Thijs van der Merwe, the general secretary of the NGKN (Dutch Reformed Church Namibia) said several non-profit organisations' bank accounts had been frozen - some that had already submitted re-applications for registration.
He said he is aware of two Dutch Reformed churches in the country, namely at Maltahöhe and Oranjemund, whose accounts were frozen. "However, Maltahöhe's re-registration was submitted on 2 October. There is no communication with those involved."
In addition, he learned that the bank accounts of 75 non-profit organisations at Rundu are also being frozen. He believes draconian actions have been taken, while they are being threatened with prison terms and heavy fines.
"It has not been communicated to those who are already registered that they must re-register. Only public announcements were made, there was no communication with the people themselves," he said, adding that it was very disruptive. "You can imagine - these are people who, among other things, have to buy food for their soup kitchens, but everything is coming to a standstill. Besides, the banks have no choice, if they are instructed to freeze the bank accounts, they have to do it."
Channel 7's Niël van den Berg said they were given a five-year waiver to comply with the new legal requirement. He says that although he understands the new legislation and is not opposed to it, churches' bank accounts being frozen will affect vulnerable persons - especially churches that care for vulnerable persons and often run soup kitchens.
He added that people involved in these types of organisations are mostly not accountants or experts in finance and are currently faced with something completely new and unknown.
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