Residents of the Katutura Central Constituency of the Khomas region are calling on the City of Windhoek to stop cutting basic services due to outstanding payments. They told NBC News that the Municipality has started disconnecting prepaid electricity as punishment for outstanding water bills. One of the residents, Ella Matthias said she has five children and nine grandchildren, but claimed her household has been without water and electricity for four months, because she owes the City Council six-thousand dollars for water. Another resident, Uatjiukua Kandere, who owes the City four-thousand dollars, has been living without water for one year and ten months without pre-paid electricity. She described the municipalitys treatment as inhumane, adding that she walks long distances to collect fire wood and buys 25-litres of water for five dollars. The residents appealed to the City Council to allow them to pay off whatever they can, while the services are restored. Katutura Central Councillor Ambrosius Kandjii urged the City Council Management and mayor to intervene. Kandjii said his office has been inundated with complaints for months, adding that he approached the officials in charge of the debt control to make arrangements on behalf of the residents, but to no avail. Approached for comment, the City of Windhoek Manager for Corporate Communications Joshua Amukugo said the action is being implemented under the new Debt Management policy. He said under the new policy, if a client failed to pay for water, the prepaid electricity will also be disconnected to encourage payments. Amukugo indicates that in the past clients would not bother settling the water bill, because they have electricity and would come up with measures to acquire water from neighbours. He said a client is required to pay off one third of the debts before the re-connection of the services. Amukugo said by the end of the financial year in June, the arrears from the residents stood at 380-million dollars.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 11:06:26 +0000
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