EDITORIAL: Incompetent municipalities hide behind Redforce
More and more ratepayers across the country are expressing outrage at their local authorities’ practices to collect unpaid municipal debt from inhabitants.
Several town councils and municipalities - who have for years failed to implement working debt-collection strategies - have now abdicated their duties to new kid on the block, Redforce.
Like any other private business, Redforce grabbed this opportunity with both hands by embarking on an aggressive debt-collection campaign to rake in as much money as possible.
Seen as the devil by ratepayers, the debt-collection company has emerged as a messiah for local authorities who are owed millions for the services they provide.
A classic example is Walvis Bay, where Redforce collected N$85 million between August 2023 and March 2024.
Most of these local authorities have fully-staffed and dedicated debt-collection departments, but debts continue to pile up uncontrollably.
This has even affected these authorities’ ability to provide municipal services to the public and to keep the respective towns clean.
While ratepayers should take the blame for the hundreds of millions owed to local authorities, we should not turn a blind eye to the ‘salary collectors’ sitting in those offices doing nothing.
Local authorities now have to pay double to collect debts, with ratepayers bearing the brunt of this double cost.
We are often quick to castigate politicians serving on local authority councils for not doing their work, while overlooking the technocrats who receive fat salaries for doing nothing. It is - in fact - because of their inability to do their work that local authorities are forced to turn to external debt collectors.
It is also clear that the current trend of local authorities - and even government - shunning Redforce is nothing but a cheap political stunt. It’s an election year, after all.
Several town councils and municipalities - who have for years failed to implement working debt-collection strategies - have now abdicated their duties to new kid on the block, Redforce.
Like any other private business, Redforce grabbed this opportunity with both hands by embarking on an aggressive debt-collection campaign to rake in as much money as possible.
Seen as the devil by ratepayers, the debt-collection company has emerged as a messiah for local authorities who are owed millions for the services they provide.
A classic example is Walvis Bay, where Redforce collected N$85 million between August 2023 and March 2024.
Most of these local authorities have fully-staffed and dedicated debt-collection departments, but debts continue to pile up uncontrollably.
This has even affected these authorities’ ability to provide municipal services to the public and to keep the respective towns clean.
While ratepayers should take the blame for the hundreds of millions owed to local authorities, we should not turn a blind eye to the ‘salary collectors’ sitting in those offices doing nothing.
Local authorities now have to pay double to collect debts, with ratepayers bearing the brunt of this double cost.
We are often quick to castigate politicians serving on local authority councils for not doing their work, while overlooking the technocrats who receive fat salaries for doing nothing. It is - in fact - because of their inability to do their work that local authorities are forced to turn to external debt collectors.
It is also clear that the current trend of local authorities - and even government - shunning Redforce is nothing but a cheap political stunt. It’s an election year, after all.
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