City considers prepaid meter rollout
The City of Windhoek is considering an increased rollout of prepaid electricity meters in an effort to generate revenue.
The move comes as it is owed close to N$1 billion in arrears for services rendered.
The city was owed N$935 million at 31 December 2019, while a total of N$663 million was owed 30 days before December.
The city council is considering this option as a sustainable way to manage debt. “Although the prepaid electricity option is currently available to the public, some residents are struggling to keep up with account payments, while others are hesitant to convert,” city spokesperson Lydia Amutenya said. “For the city to sustain an uninterrupted supply of basic services such water and electricity, the City of Windhoek relies on its clients to pay for the services rendered to them without delay.”
Amutenya urged all residents to prioritise their municipal accounts “to enable us to continue to provide these critical services, as per our mission to enhance the quality of life for all our people by rendering efficient and effective municipal services”.
When she was sworn-in Windhoek mayor Fransina Kahungu asked residents to pay for services provided by the municipality.
“I would like to call upon all the residents to settle their municipal bills because without a financially sustainable city, the provision of much-needed services will suffer and the initiatives that I have just alluded to will not be implemented as fast as we want,” she said.
She added that they understand the economic hardships being experienced by the country, but said the council still needs to pay its service providers to ensure that the services many rely upon are sustained.
OGONE TLHAGE
The move comes as it is owed close to N$1 billion in arrears for services rendered.
The city was owed N$935 million at 31 December 2019, while a total of N$663 million was owed 30 days before December.
The city council is considering this option as a sustainable way to manage debt. “Although the prepaid electricity option is currently available to the public, some residents are struggling to keep up with account payments, while others are hesitant to convert,” city spokesperson Lydia Amutenya said. “For the city to sustain an uninterrupted supply of basic services such water and electricity, the City of Windhoek relies on its clients to pay for the services rendered to them without delay.”
Amutenya urged all residents to prioritise their municipal accounts “to enable us to continue to provide these critical services, as per our mission to enhance the quality of life for all our people by rendering efficient and effective municipal services”.
When she was sworn-in Windhoek mayor Fransina Kahungu asked residents to pay for services provided by the municipality.
“I would like to call upon all the residents to settle their municipal bills because without a financially sustainable city, the provision of much-needed services will suffer and the initiatives that I have just alluded to will not be implemented as fast as we want,” she said.
She added that they understand the economic hardships being experienced by the country, but said the council still needs to pay its service providers to ensure that the services many rely upon are sustained.
OGONE TLHAGE
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