Rundu: Only 30% of residents pay municipal bills
The town’s spokesperson said of the small percentage of residents who actually pay their bills every month, some do not settle their debts in full.
Kenya Kambowe
RUNDU
Rundu spokesperson Benjamin Makayi says the town is unable to deliver services to residents because of a lack of resources. This is a result of only 30% of residents paying their municipal bills, he said.
Makayi said of 15 000 residents who receive monthly bills, only about 4 500 pay their dues, however adding that not all settling their debts in full.
As for the 70% of defaulting residents, Makayi said those are people who enjoy free services yet still complain about poor service delivery.
“Out of 15 000 bills that go out to individual households, only 4 500 people respond, and they don’t even respond in full. What do you expect out of that?” he remarked.
He argued that without adequate resources, Rundu will not be able to deliver on its mandate, even if the town hires highly qualified people. The issue of non-cooperation by residents failing to pay for services should be addressed, he added.
Water woes
Last week, Rundu residents had to turn to the Kavango River for survival as taps ran dry from Sunday to Thursday.
This is because the units purchased by council from NamWater were used up and the local authority did not have funds to buy more water.
Makayi told Namibian Sun that the town council is still in the red, and had to engage NamWater, who gave it water worth N$2 million on credit.
Makayi said this water will probably only last two weeks.
Rundu owes NamWater over N$120 million on its conventional account that has been supplying water to the residents over the years, until the water utility decided to place the cash-strapped local authority on a pre-paid system.
Rundu needs about N$14 million a month to properly manage its operations, however, the town is failing to collect revenue from its residents.
Debt collection
The local authority roped in the services of a debt collector, Redforce Debt Management, which so far has been failing to collect monies owed by residents because they refuse to cooperate, he said.
The spokesperson added that people enter into agreements with Redforce to pay for their services, however, they do not honour the agreements.
[email protected]
RUNDU
Rundu spokesperson Benjamin Makayi says the town is unable to deliver services to residents because of a lack of resources. This is a result of only 30% of residents paying their municipal bills, he said.
Makayi said of 15 000 residents who receive monthly bills, only about 4 500 pay their dues, however adding that not all settling their debts in full.
As for the 70% of defaulting residents, Makayi said those are people who enjoy free services yet still complain about poor service delivery.
“Out of 15 000 bills that go out to individual households, only 4 500 people respond, and they don’t even respond in full. What do you expect out of that?” he remarked.
He argued that without adequate resources, Rundu will not be able to deliver on its mandate, even if the town hires highly qualified people. The issue of non-cooperation by residents failing to pay for services should be addressed, he added.
Water woes
Last week, Rundu residents had to turn to the Kavango River for survival as taps ran dry from Sunday to Thursday.
This is because the units purchased by council from NamWater were used up and the local authority did not have funds to buy more water.
Makayi told Namibian Sun that the town council is still in the red, and had to engage NamWater, who gave it water worth N$2 million on credit.
Makayi said this water will probably only last two weeks.
Rundu owes NamWater over N$120 million on its conventional account that has been supplying water to the residents over the years, until the water utility decided to place the cash-strapped local authority on a pre-paid system.
Rundu needs about N$14 million a month to properly manage its operations, however, the town is failing to collect revenue from its residents.
Debt collection
The local authority roped in the services of a debt collector, Redforce Debt Management, which so far has been failing to collect monies owed by residents because they refuse to cooperate, he said.
The spokesperson added that people enter into agreements with Redforce to pay for their services, however, they do not honour the agreements.
[email protected]
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