Water system suspension illegal - Henties Bay council

The Henties Bay municipality says supplier ITEM Engineering's suspension of the town's prepaid water vending system is illegal.Acting CEO Ignasia Neis told residents at a public meeting on Monday that ITEM suspended the system on Friday, demanding payment of about 70% of the outstanding N$12 million balance."The amount for which the water has been suspended was not supposed to be paid now in this current financial year," she said. "The suspension that is taking place currently is illegal."Neis said the municipality had not budgeted for the payment in the current financial year and that the contract only obliges payment of the balance once the 2026/2027 financial year begins on 1 July and once the corresponding budget has been approved by the ministry.She said the town's water supply itself has not been cut off, only the system used to purchase prepaid tokens.The dispute stems from a project to supply, install and commission prepaid water meters across Henties Bay, which began under the previous council and was approved by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development.The total contract value is N$26 997 212.51.ITEM Engineering received an upfront payment of N$15 million last November, with the remaining N$12 million due to be paid by the end of the 2026/2027 financial year. Council says it never approved the original N$27 million quotation, which exceeded its procurement threshold, and that the project was implemented on the instruction of the ministry.Neis said the main agreement with ITEM Engineering was signed on 25 August 2025, with an addendum signed on 1 September 2025 setting out the payment schedule.Council resolved to install conventional meters, free of charge, for households whose prepaid meters have been suspended until the dispute is resolved."Whoever's water has been cut, we will install the old meter so that they can have access to water," Neis said. She said council would seek a legal opinion on challenging the suspension and on the contract itself.‘Ransom’ demandManagement committee chairperson Danie Wehl told the meeting that council would meet to decide whether to continue with the project at all. He described the contractor's demand as holding the municipality at "ransom" and said council was united on the point.Councillor Sifried //Garoeb, in a statement posted on Facebook ahead of the meeting, said council had not received N$11 million from government to pay ITEM Engineering and described claims to the contrary as false."The cost of the prepaid metering solution is extremely high, and the municipality is not in a financial position to afford it," he said.Residents at the meeting questioned the validity of the contract documents and where money paid for prepaid tokens goes. Council said it would respond further once a legal opinion has been obtained.This publication reached out to ITEM Engineering managing director Fessor Mbango and others at the business with questions on the suspension. They had responded at the time of publishing.Residents who anticipate running out of water are asked to contact the municipal office before their meter runs dry so a conventional meter can be installed at no charge.

Water system suspension illegal - Henties Bay council

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-02

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Water system suspension illegal - Henties Bay council

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Namibian Sun 2026-07-02

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