Swakop to start disconnecting water
Government and parastatals first
The Swakopmund municipality will start disconnecting water supply to help recover a debt of N$130,5 million that accumulated due to the non-payment of service accounts.
The Swakopmund municipality will start cutting water supply to ensure debt of about N$130,5 million that accumulated due to the non-payment of service accounts is recovered – and this measure will first be implemented for government and state-owned enterprises accounts.
Last October, the municipality already noted that its outstanding debt was over N$100,1 million – and this mostly due to a directive by Cabinet that water may not be disconnected as an emergency measure during the peak period of Covid-19.
In November the municipality started working on means to recover the debt internally and using debt collectors. It also gave accountholders a grace period from December 2021 to 31 March 2022 to make arrangements for settlement of their outstanding debts with the municipality – and even granted a 10% settlement discount for payment of accounts old than 90 days.
Regardless of the predicament of growing debt in light of a directive not to disconnect water – and also giving account holders a grace period to settle their debt – government institutions, businesses and residents continued using water, only 485 accountholders made arrangements to repay their debt.
The debt has now grown by more than N$30 million, of which about N$17 million is from government and parastatal accounts, as well as ‘free water’ which was supplied through standpipes for the DRC informal settlement as a Covid-19 emergency measure.
Last week, during his budget speech, Swakopmund municipal council management committee chairman, Wilfried Groenewald, said that the council has implemented cost saving initiatives and restraints to ensure its proposed N$842 million budget for the next financial year does not impose economic hardship on the town’s residents, while still enabling continued municipal services.
He noted though that the sound budget implementation from previous years, which allowed the municipality to historically support the budget with surpluses from previous years, is not a sustainable option available this time around as these surpluses are not available to further support its financial year as a sustainable funding source. Much of the lack in surpluses is due to unpaid bills that amount to millions of dollars, as in the case of the N$130,5 million now owed.
“In view of the total outstanding debt, it is recommended that council considers disconnection of water supply due to nonpayment of service accounts,” the minutes of last week’s ordinary council meeting read.
As a result, the municipality will consider beginning its disconnection measures of government and state-owned enterprises first, and then businesses. As for residential disconnections, a plan is being devised, but until then residents are encouraged to settle the accounts as soon as possible.
Last October, the municipality already noted that its outstanding debt was over N$100,1 million – and this mostly due to a directive by Cabinet that water may not be disconnected as an emergency measure during the peak period of Covid-19.
In November the municipality started working on means to recover the debt internally and using debt collectors. It also gave accountholders a grace period from December 2021 to 31 March 2022 to make arrangements for settlement of their outstanding debts with the municipality – and even granted a 10% settlement discount for payment of accounts old than 90 days.
Regardless of the predicament of growing debt in light of a directive not to disconnect water – and also giving account holders a grace period to settle their debt – government institutions, businesses and residents continued using water, only 485 accountholders made arrangements to repay their debt.
The debt has now grown by more than N$30 million, of which about N$17 million is from government and parastatal accounts, as well as ‘free water’ which was supplied through standpipes for the DRC informal settlement as a Covid-19 emergency measure.
Last week, during his budget speech, Swakopmund municipal council management committee chairman, Wilfried Groenewald, said that the council has implemented cost saving initiatives and restraints to ensure its proposed N$842 million budget for the next financial year does not impose economic hardship on the town’s residents, while still enabling continued municipal services.
He noted though that the sound budget implementation from previous years, which allowed the municipality to historically support the budget with surpluses from previous years, is not a sustainable option available this time around as these surpluses are not available to further support its financial year as a sustainable funding source. Much of the lack in surpluses is due to unpaid bills that amount to millions of dollars, as in the case of the N$130,5 million now owed.
“In view of the total outstanding debt, it is recommended that council considers disconnection of water supply due to nonpayment of service accounts,” the minutes of last week’s ordinary council meeting read.
As a result, the municipality will consider beginning its disconnection measures of government and state-owned enterprises first, and then businesses. As for residential disconnections, a plan is being devised, but until then residents are encouraged to settle the accounts as soon as possible.
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