Local authorities drown under NamWater bills

JANA-MARI SMITH 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.SteepBy 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. BattleThe 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.A NamWater notice dated 2018 bemoaned the Stampriet council’s payment history as reflecting “a total lack of commitment”.By mid-2018, Stampriet owed N$1.7 million to Namwater, with the last payment made almost a year prior.The notice criticised Stampriet’s unsatisfactory handling of the account and said NamWater was “left with no other option but to suspend water supply to your town” unless the bill was “settled in full”.By December 2019, Stampriet’s debt had risen to N$2.7 million and by January 2020 to N$2.9 million, as per emails submitted to court. In February, NamWater threatened Stampriet with another full water suspension due to its failure to stick to a recent agreement, described as “more than lenient taking the account history into account”.Too poorIt 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”.Amongst the primary strategies employed in recent years is the installation of pre-paid meters, currently underway at Stampriet and with plans for more towns.Moreover, Shigwedha said various towns and villages have varying agreements in place, such as paying for both the current and historic account to reduce the debts.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.TrickyTses 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.Christian said the urban and rural ministry is aware of these challenges and media reports have shown numerous interventions over the years.Multiple attempts to reach the ministry for comment were met with silence.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.Coupled with high joblessness and low business profits in “sleepy towns like Stampriet, and many other villages, where are users going to get the money to pay for their water bills? So, in turn, how do the councils pay NamWater?”In a telephonic interview, NamWater boss Nehemia said despite the impact on the water utility, “I fully understand the situation of some towns and villages. It’s not that they don’t want to pay; the willingness for some is there. It’s just that they don’t have sufficient income.”He however did not dismiss problems such as weak debt collection systems and a myriad of issues reported on over the years that led to mis-management of funds at some local authorities. HelpAs such, Nehemia said the pre-payment system is the way forward so that “they [residents] only take what they pay for”.He added that NamWater is keen to provide a helping hand on technical issues, including debt management and addressing rusty infrastructure which can lead to unnecessary water losses and avoidable debt.Yet the financial input should be provided by the line ministry, he said.A meeting was held last year between NamWater and urban and rural ministry, where “we deliberated on this and we agreed to meet again this year, to see what strategies we can embark on”.The NamWater balance sheet does point to some villages and towns that are performing well.Of note is Bethanie, which by 6 December had N$8 000 credit with NamWater and is described in the margins as “performing extremely well”.Margin notes also indicate that “desalinated negotiations” are ongoing with coastal towns including Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Henties Bay.Gobabis municipality’s balance is described as “good”.

Local authorities drown under NamWater bills

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Local authorities drown under NamWater bills

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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