Municipality Chief of Corporate Communications, Ndangi Katoma, confirmed to The Namibian yesterday that the school was in arrears to the tune of N$1,6 million, and that the water at the school was cut on Tuesday morning.

"The fact is that if your account is in arrears, your water can be cut unless you make arrangements or you pay," Katoma said.

Pupils had said the water was cut on Monday afternoon, but this was said to be inaccurate yesterday.

Katoma said that the municipality had looked at the fact that school children would be affected by the cut, and had thus allowed the school to regain access to its water supply after receiving a payment late on Tuesday.

"Not all the money was paid, only a small amount," he said.

After declining to comment on Tuesday, the school's principal, Beatrice Losper, said yesterday that she had been led to believe the water-cut was linked to a mistake on the municipality's computer systems.

"I did the best thing I could do," said Losper, "which was to ask the [Khomas] Regional Office what the problem was, and they were in a flat spin."

The Financial Adviser at the Khomas Education Directorate, Loyde Felipe-Lucungo, told her that the problem was not with Government, but with the municipality's computer systems.

Katoma denied that there was any problem with the municipality's computer systems.

Approached for comment on Tuesday, Felipe-Lucungo declined to comment on the situation at the school, referring the newspaper to Acting Director of the Khomas Education Directorate, Gert Katzao.

On Tuesday, Katzao denied knowledge of the school being in arrears, yet stated that if anything was amiss they would handle it.

Yesterday he told The Namibian to contact the school to find out if water had been restored, instead of commenting on the situation.

Things were back to normal at the school yesterday.

According to pupils The Namibian spoke to, hostel residents who went home yesterday have now returned.

Local News Headlines Of The Last 48 Hours

•  'DRC refugee' arrested at airport
•  Keetmanshoop grapples with debt, at odds with Receiver
•  Namibia plagued by gender-based violence
•  'Struggle Kids' are happy campers
•  Teachers 'plot to kill' principal
•  Zero tolerance for road hogs
•  Nujoma Foundation raises N$300 000 at gala dinner
•  Young man sent to jail for killing older brother
•  Three die in lorry crash
•  Henties Bay 'in a mess'
•  High Court upholds labour-hire ban
•  Oshakati nervously eyes the sky
•  Shamil Dirk's graft case postponed again
•  ACC nabs Otavi Village Council CEO
•  Justice driver accused of looting
•  Job equity has improved
•  Ombudsman complains about Justice Ministry
•  New plan for Cuvelai Basin
•  APP postpones congress
•  Zim to ignore tribunal ruling
•  Immigration locks up SA journalist
•  Youth gets four years for rape
•  Swapo closes ranks