NamWater cuts Usakos water over N$18m debt

The Usakos Town Council owes NamWater N$18 million but says its own boreholes will keep the town supplied as the utility started cutting water on Monday.

"We owe NamWater N$18 million," chief executive officer Lesley Goreseb told Namibian Sun on Sunday.

NamWater will suspend supply to Usakos daily from 17:00 to 08:00 until Friday. From 28 September to 5 October, an additional interruption from 12:00 to 14:00 applies. From 6 to 9 October, there will be no supply. On weekends, supply will be reduced by about 50%.

In a public notice issued on Saturday, NamWater said it had not received written confirmation from the council accepting conditions set in a letter dated 25 August, "nor an alternative proposal that would achieve an equivalent outcome".

NamWater spokesperson Lot Ndamanomhata said the conditions related to five years of unpaid water accounts. He declined to disclose the amount owed.

The council had to meet four conditions before 21 September. These were an immediate payment of a percentage of the arrears, settling monthly invoices in full within 30 days, monthly payments toward the arrears, and a repayment agreement backed by a council resolution.

Ndamanomhata said NamWater has received N$232 594.63 from the council since June 2024. The two parties met on 5 August.

"To date, NamWater has received no response from the [town council] or commitment in any way to resolve the matter," he said. "The responsibility to ensure an uninterrupted water supply to the Usakos Town Council lies with the Usakos Town Council by honouring its obligations regarding payment for water supplied to it by NamWater."

Goreseb said the council replied to NamWater, proposing that N$1.6 million the utility owes the council in rates and taxes be offset as a down payment.

"I told them to offset the N$1.6 million that they owe to us," he said.

According to Goreseb, NamWater responded last week, saying it wants the council to pay 30% of the N$18 million and that it would proceed with the suspension on 21 September. He said the amount is "really impossible" for the council to pay.

He said residents owe the council N$36 million for water.

"Residents don't pay. You cannot close. The debt is just rising," Goreseb said.

Payment dispute

Ndamanomhata said NamWater's bulk supply goes to the council, which distributes water to households.

"If specific paying households are losing supply, that would be a council-level distribution issue, as the Usakos Town Council is responsible for local reticulation," he said.

He said the question should be put to the council: "Specifically, why has the town council not been forwarding to NamWater the payments made by citizens who pay their rates and taxes, inclusive of water?"

Goreseb said the council has drilled four boreholes and built two reservoirs since he took office two years ago.

"Which means if NamWater closes their water tomorrow, we will still be able to supply water to the residents," he said on Sunday. "They can go ahead. I'm comfortably saying that."

The council is also installing 800 prepaid water meters, he added.

Goreseb said water rationing in Hakhaseb and Erongosig was not linked to the debt.

"The rationing of water was not caused by our debt. It was caused by their (NamWater's) equipment," he said.

NamWater said it will provide water tankers and storage containers at prisons, schools and hospitals during the suspension.