Drowning under NamWater bills

NamWater's longstanding battle to be paid by struggling Namibian town and village councils that have accrued millions in unpaid bulk water debt poses a tough hurdle to infrastructure development and upkeep as the country faces increasing water supply troubles.

NamWater CEO Abraham Nehemia last week declined to comment on individual local authority accounts, which were revealed in an urgent application currently before the Windhoek High Court, but said NamWater is “struggling” and their ability to carry out their mandate has been hampered as a result of unpaid bills.

“NamWater does not want to depend on government bail-outs. If we were able to recover all the costs based on water we've supplied, NamWater should really be a company able to carry out its tasks without problems,” he said.

The water utility boss said the current situation NamWater “finds itself in creates a very difficult condition for the company to carry out two important tasks: Developing new infrastructure and maintaining infrastructure”.

The Stampriet village council, which is defending its decision to shut off the water taps to a local grocery store earlier this year, submitted papers to court that lists NamWater local authority invoices dated November 2019, and current balances owed as of 6 December 2019.



Steep

By 6 December, Khorixas town council's overdue balance stood at close to N$40 million, with its November 2019 invoice adding an additional N$1.4 million to its account.

Otavi's overdue balance by December had reached more than N$18.2 million, while Karasburg's debt stood at N$8.5 million in December. Both Maltahöhe and Tses owed over N$8 million. Tses's debt is more than 11 years overdue, totalling 4 217 debt days.





Gibeon's overdue balance on the current account stood at over N$12 million, overdue four years, and Witvlei owes above N$11 million, stretching back over four years.

Nehemia declined to comment directly on the invoices and balances submitted to court and most town and village council CEOs, asked to comment on their utility bill, also declined to do so.

While the water utility's “head remains above water, it's not what it is supposed to be”, Nehemia said.



Battle

The urgent application was brought by a Stampriet grocery store owner, Hennie Martinus Theron, whose founding affidavit accuses the village council of mismanagement of funds that led to NamWater's decision, around two years ago, to implement water rationing at the town.

Stampriet CEO Dino Kohima has denied these allegations, and instead places the blame squarely on the slack payments of residents.

“The council has over the years faced challenges of collecting outstanding debts from residents due to the fact that most who are supplied with water are unable to keep up with the payments of tariffs as they increased over the years. As a result, this has led to an enormous debt of N$7.5 million currently owed to the Stampriet village council.”

Kohima claims Theron's taps were closed due to the non-payment of his water bill, while Theron insists he offered to pay NamWater directly, instead of risking payment to council, which he says has demonstrated an unreliable payment history.



Too poor

It is unclear what negotiations are underway with villages and towns that owe far more than N$3 million.

NamWater spokesperson Johannes Shigwedha said the company does not comment on individual accounts, and declined to comment on the Namwater balance sheet submitted to court.

He did however confirm that a number of town and village councils owe NamWater a substantial amount of money.

Shigwedha said councils are engaged according to their individual circumstances and a number of strategies are in place to recover debt.

He said daily rationing is in place at a handful of local authorities, but is a “last resort”.

Towns that have implemented pre-paid systems include Katima Mulilo, which by December owed N$24.9 million, and Rehoboth with a balance of N$9.1 million in December.



Tricky

Tses council CEO Fritz Christian told Namibian Sun recently that daily water rationing was implemented over a year ago as a result of their more than N$8 million debt accrued over 11 years.

Boreholes now form part of Tses' water supply strategy.

Christian said while a payment plan was reached with NamWater, it's difficult to stick to it due to low revenue income.

“The only sustainable option is to get your own water, and to then pay off your debt,” he said.

Christian believes a major obstacle is widespread poverty in the area.

In comparison, villages like Gochas, he said, whose balance stood at less than N$500 000 in December, benefited from more wealth in the area which helps to create jobs that boosts a community's ability to pay rates and utilities.

“Then you have villages like Tses, Berseba, Gibeon, we are surrounded by communal land, and many of our inhabitants do not have jobs. So, these villages really struggle.”

He said without “deliberate government interventions to help these villages”, it is unlikely the status quo will change.

Economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu said the low economic activities in small Namibian towns, many of which have been reduced to “ghost towns”, may require a change in how bulk water supply is handled.

Namibian utilities are among the costliest and impose significant burdens for residents and businesses, he added.

JANA-MARI SMITH