Windhoek school taps open again

JANA-MARI SMITH

Water supply to 25 Windhoek schools was restored by the City of Windhoek on Monday after a temporary suspension was ordered last week due to a large debt owed by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.

The City of Windhoek yesterday confirmed that water supply to all affected schools was restored after a payment plan had been agreed with the ministry on Monday.

According to sources, after at least two letters were sent to school administrators in December and January, asking that all outstanding accounts be settled, the first taps were closed last week Wednesday in a final bid to resolve the issue.

Sanet Steenkamp, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Education, confirmed yesterday that water supply to 25 schools had been cut off since last week.

She said discussions “at the highest level” took place to address the issue urgently, with a final agreement reached on Monday.

Steenkamp said the ministry made “a substantial payment to the City” on Monday and agreed to an additional payment to be made on Friday.

She would not comment on the total amount outstanding. Reliable sources claimed that the ministry’s municipal bill exceeded N$20 million.

The City of Windhoek would not comment on the outstanding amount either, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Steenkamp said the outstanding debt was linked to the government’s “stringent austerity measures” and the decentralisation of funds, which were not released in bulk anymore and slowed down payments.

“The resources are there and so is the willingness to engage the service providers as well as the commitment to settle accounts and payments that we owe others,” she said.

Steenkamp said the decentralisation of funds provided “more leeway in prioritising what areas are critical that require intervention and payments.”

Nevertheless, as a result, “the release of funds is not at the same speed as it used to be.”

Steenkamp said the problem was confined to the Khomas Region. Late last year, in September or October, 20 schools in the Kavango East region faced a similar situation, which was “handled immediately,” she said.

A list of affected schools was not made public, although reports indicated that they included the Windhoek Technical High School, Augeikhas Primary School, Centaurus High School, Acacia High School and Augustineum Secondary School.