Sankwasa won’t budge as utility cut-offs loom

Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa has doubled down on his directive to disconnect water and electricity services by Friday to ministries, state bodies and large private companies that have failed to settle municipal debts.

The minister stressed that local authorities can no longer be expected to bankroll chronic non-payers while struggling to provide basic services.

Speaking to Namibian Sun on Monday, Sankwasa dismissed suggestions that government entities should be exempt from municipal debt collection measures, insisting that no law grants them special treatment.

“There is no exemption," he said.

"Ministries and government institutions are required to pay for services rendered by local authorities. Neither the Local Authorities Act nor the State Finance Act, which authorises the annual budget and subvents state money to various local authorities, grants exemptions,” he added.

The minister maintained that institutions experiencing financial constraints should negotiate repayment plans rather than continue accumulating arrears.

"We must not destroy the country because of understandable but self-defeating reasons,” Sankwasa said.

“Hospitals can make arrangements for monthly settlement of outstanding and current bills with respective local authorities."

Line drawn

His comments come amid growing debate over his circular issued on 21 May, which instructs municipalities, town councils and village councils to suspend water and electricity services to ministries, state offices and businesses that fail to pay outstanding municipal accounts by 5 June.

Sankwasa argues that widespread non-payment by large institutions has pushed many local authorities to the brink of financial collapse.

“The non-payment for services rendered to government ministries, big businesses and other government institutions by the local authorities has rendered most, if not all, local authorities bankrupt and unable to render or manage the required services to the residents,” the circular states.

“In most cases, local authorities are suspending water and electricity services to poor residents who may in some instances only owe a mere N$1 500, leaving government ministries, government institutions and big businesses owing thousands or nearly a million,” the circular reads.

No special treatment

According to Sankwasa, municipalities cannot be expected to maintain roads, repair infrastructure and improve service delivery if they are unable to recover money owed to them.

“All of us politicians, the federal public, including you journalists, are up in arms against local authorities for poor service delivery, poor roads and potholes, which are never attended to year in and year out because local authorities do not have money,” he said.

“And now when local authorities must collect their money, some people and some journalists want to see such steps as uncalled for. What do we Namibians really want to be done in this country?”

Community activist Shaun Gariseb welcomed the minister's position.

"The City of Windhoek must cut the electricity of non-paying government institutions so that the City of Windhoek can make money. This will also demonstrate to us ratepayers that we are not targeted,” Gariseb said.

He added that debt collection policies should be applied consistently across all customer categories, although he cautioned that many residents were already under severe financial pressure.

Billions owed

The minister’s directive comes as municipalities continue to grapple with mounting debt. Last year, NamWater reported that local authorities owed the utility N$2.4 billion.

Electricity Control Board chief executive Robert Kahimise said local authorities and state-owned enterprises in breach of repayment agreements accounted for N$557 million owed to NamPower, pushing total arrears close to N$3 billion.

Several councils have increasingly turned to private debt collectors to improve revenue collection.

At the same time, the minister has sought relief for vulnerable groups. Earlier this year, he instructed local authorities to submit details of pensioners and persons living with disabilities who accumulated arrears during the Covid-19 pandemic for possible debt write-offs.

“The government gave a blanket directive. No water must be suspended, and no electricity must be suspended. People were in a crisis, a worldwide crisis,” Sankwasa said.