Namibia failed to accept Wednesday the Angolan kwanza as a trade currency in the north of the country, five months after an agreement between the central banks of the two countries came into force, according to a joint statement from the two central banks.

The statement recalled that the monetary agreement, which came into force on 18 June, covered residents of the border towns of Oshikango (Namibia) and Santa Clara (Angola), and they could use their national currencies in the neighbouring country, up to 3,500 euros per person to “facilitate payment for goods and services.”

The statement said there had been “challenges” in the application of the agreement, such as “currency trading outside the scope of the agreement”, particularly in terms of amounts.

Despite the “measures” introduced in the meantime, these challenges “have not been solved completely,” and the two institutions announced that a “new mechanism” for currency conversion would be launched on 21 December 2015, centralised by the National Bank of Angola (BNA) and only available in Angolan commercial banks.

The Bank of Namibia will issue Namibian dollars for the BNA, which will take over the management and disbursement of money to commercial banks and at the border post of Santa Clara (south of Angola). (macauhub/AO)