Namibians not keen on N$10 coins

NAMIBIANS are reportedly reluctant to accept the N$10 commemorative coins from commercial banks in Namibia, and some banks are believed to be stuck with thousands of dollars worth of the coins in their safes.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source inside a local commercial bank has told The Namibian that the banks are currently facing a shortage of N$10 and N$20 notes.This is allegedly because the Bank of Namibia (BoN) has stopped issuing commercial banks with the old N$10 and N$20 notes displaying the portrait of Kaptein Hendrik Witbooi ahead of the release of new notes sporting the face of Founding President Sam Nujoma.The BoN has denied this claim, saying that it continues to supply commercial banks with N$10 and N$20 notes as per demand.The source said, however, that the BoN has requested commercial banks to circulate the N$10 coins to their clients in the face of the alleged shortage of N$10 and N$20 notes.When asked about this, BoN director for strategic communications Ndangi Katoma said the central bank ‘has an obligation to ensure that the Namibian market is supplied with sufficient stock of currency,’ notes and coins alike, at all times.Katoma added that although the N$10 coin is a one-off commemorative coin and was not meant to replace the N$10 banknote, both the N$10 coin and note are legal tender in Namibia.But the source also said that many bank clients are reluctant to accept the N$10 coins.Katoma confirmed this, saying that some commercial banks have reported that their clients are unwilling to accept the N$10 coins for a number of reasons, including the weight of the coins.’There are also accounting and logistic challenges when dealing with large volumes of coins as compared to banknotes,’ Katoma said.Katoma said five million of the commemorative coins were minted, of which 2,3 million coins are in circulation.According to the source, one bank’s Windhoek branch has N$90 000 worth of the commemorative coins in its vault because its clients don’t want them.