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Bank of Namibia spokesperson Kazembire Zemburuka says the bank is unable to process payments on behalf of the government to Namibian students in Russia due to the removal of Russian commercial banks from the Swift banking network.
The Bank is now exploring other alternatives, Zemburuka says.
Namibian students in Russia are unable to get access to money in their respective bank accounts as Namibian banks have blocked all transactions to Russian banks, due to international sanctions imposed on Russia after it started a war against Ukraine on 24 February.
The president of the Namibian Students in the Russian Federation and Commonwealth of Independent States, Wilhelmina Uundonga, says students are struggling to get access to funds in their bank accounts.
“It has really affected us badly, especially privately funded students who need to pay for their tuition fees,” she says. “They are still stuck. We have made Bank of Namibia aware of the situation, but we do not know what’s the way forward.”
Uundonga says some students have started to open new accounts with banks that are not under sanctions.
“People are still struggling in Namibia to get the banks in Namibia to send money to these banks,” she said.
Some Russian banks are being removed from the Swift international financial messaging system, which is used to transfer money across borders.
This will also delay payments to Russia for oil and gas exports.
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