/Goagoses vows to clean up

JEMIMA BEUKES Nathalia /Goagoses recently lifted the veil on the financial and operational chaos that has plagued the Rehoboth town council./Goagoses, the ministerial representative in the Rehoboth council, assured the town’s residents that she is incorruptible and will hunt down those who owe the council money./Goagoses announced her intentions to regain ownership of the rundown Reho Spa resort, to entrust residents with title deeds and to sort out the financial mess the council had inherited from its former management.Not only is she intent on breaking the culture of sloppiness at the council, but also to provide quality services to the town’s people.“Your money is in good hands; the days of just take and go and buy is gone. Proper procedures must be followed; we are busy to work prudently with your money,” she said.When she took over the council on 15 March this year she inherited not only financial chaos but debts which ran into the millions.“The bulk suppliers, we owed then N$84 million for NamPower. We further inherited NamWater debt which stood at N$29 million. I also inherited third-party debt [of] millions of dollars. Third parties for which there were no contracts.“The men only made appointments from their offices. We are sitting with those bad debts, and many of them I told that there are no grounds for their demands. They are taking us to court.“If I have to answer then I must answer to a system and procedures that were followed, so some of the debts we are not likely to pay, which must be a lesson for big businesspeople not to take chances,” she said.According to her the monthly electricity usage of the town is about N$10 million, but they have suffered a lot of losses which are currently under investigation.“Even the licence was given away by this town council; by law the town council must be the licence holder. Now we have hired a third party to buy the electricity on behalf of us and even manage the licence,” she said.She added that residents owed the town council N$166 million for rates and taxes, water and electricity.“One lady in Block E owed us about N$40 000. We also shared up in blocks, one block owed us N$34 million. I just want to request that you come and talk to us about your debts so that we can fix it and see how to manage it,” she said.She also urged residents to sort out their title deeds so that they do not leave their children with inheritance issues.“That is my biggest desire, that we sort this out before I go, because when I leave here in March next year then things may change.“Those of you who think you are sitting in those Block E houses are mistaken that it is yours, it belongs to the council. Any administration can come and sell it and only the rich people will be able to buy those houses and turn them into shebeens and then you are marginalised even further,” she warned. Town lands/Goagoses also took a swipe at foreigners who occupy prime business and agricultural land without paying.She said when she started at the council they had received N$800 for all business on the town lands.

/Goagoses vows to clean up

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-05

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/Goagoses vows to clean up

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-05

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