Decisive Action Needed On Water Dilemma
IT is becoming more imperative by the day that an effective solution is found to the water non-payment crisis engulfing a number of towns in Namibia.
We do not need to repeat the manifold examples of non-payment of
water bills to town councils who in turn are unable to pay NamWater
- with things then going from bad to worse.
In the process, the quality of life of hundreds of Namibians is
being affected and it affects the socio-economic wellbeing of towns
and villages.
The issues are manifold and there is no simple solution.
Access to clean, potable water is widely considered to be a
human right.
The thorny issue of privatisation of water resources in many
countries is considered to be an impediment to ensuring that
people, especially those in unemployed and marginalised
communities, get such access.
At a recent communication strategy meeting of NamWater involving
a number of stakeholders - including various ministries, local
government and unions - the Manager of NamWater Corporate
Communications, Johannes Shigwedha, questioned what the end result
would be of non-payment of water bills.
He emphasised the need to "sit down and tackle the problem we
are facing by asking questions and determining whether the factors
we claim are at the roots of the challenges, have been correctly
identified".
He summarised that there appeared to be a number of reasons for
non-payment, both by individuals and institutions.
These included poverty, unwillingness, the perception that water
should not be paid for, cultural problems or simply a question of
not wanting to take responsibility.
He added that NamWater would embark on a research process to
this end, and once the real problems had been identified, embark on
a major communication strategy to rectify it.
A number of the groups invited to the meeting came up with
various hypotheses on the non-payment issue.
Although these are simply experiences and perceptions from
different regions and-or individuals and institutions, they may
nevertheless help us to identify a commonality in order that the
issue be holistically addressed, and it is therefore an important
exercise that NamWater has embarked upon.
Then there is the issue of NamWater's predicament.
From its point of view, the parastatal emphasised that it had
made losses since its inception - in the order of N$20 million in
the 2002 and 2003 financial years, and the large amounts owed by
debtors continue to accumulate.
It added that NamWater had large debts to lenders and further
borrowing was not possible.
The three components of NamWater's costs are capital, labour and
power, including maintenance and operating costs, and a lot of
present infrastructure was old and outdated and would need major
investment to repair.
According to NamWater, it had been forced to cut its employees
from 1 000 to about 700 and cut down on other costs but this, in
turn, was beginning to inhibit its ability to supply water.
Income was limited by sales volumes and tariffs and NamWater
said that although sales volumes had declined in recent years
(which was good from the point of view of conserving resources)
this had a negative impact on the enterprise's financial
sustainability.
Interestingly, the parastatal pointed out that per capita
consumption by towns with large debts to NamWater tended to be
about twice that of towns paying their accounts.
NamWater said it recognised that some towns did not have enough
revenue from the sale of water to consumers to cover the NamWater
account, but in this case, needed to call on central Government for
a subsidy.
NamWater then estimated that at N$6,50 per kilolitre, basic
water for a household of five (about 8 kilolitres a month) would
cost N$52.
If water came from a standpipe, consumption would be less than
half that so the cost in turn would be halved.
This is not an exhaustive report on the NamWater meeting, but it
needs to be said that NamWater should be commended for taking this
initiative and continuing the dialogue in an effort to solve what
has become a very vexatious problem.
Hopefully the end result will culminate in accessible,
affordable water for consumers, and an end to NamWater's financial
predicament.
In the process, the quality of life of hundreds of Namibians is
being affected and it affects the socio-economic wellbeing of towns
and villages.The issues are manifold and there is no simple
solution.Access to clean, potable water is widely considered to be
a human right.The thorny issue of privatisation of water resources
in many countries is considered to be an impediment to ensuring
that people, especially those in unemployed and marginalised
communities, get such access.At a recent communication strategy
meeting of NamWater involving a number of stakeholders - including
various ministries, local government and unions - the Manager of
NamWater Corporate Communications, Johannes Shigwedha, questioned
what the end result would be of non-payment of water bills.He
emphasised the need to "sit down and tackle the problem we are
facing by asking questions and determining whether the factors we
claim are at the roots of the challenges, have been correctly
identified".He summarised that there appeared to be a number of
reasons for non-payment, both by individuals and institutions.These
included poverty, unwillingness, the perception that water should
not be paid for, cultural problems or simply a question of not
wanting to take responsibility.He added that NamWater would embark
on a research process to this end, and once the real problems had
been identified, embark on a major communication strategy to
rectify it.A number of the groups invited to the meeting came up
with various hypotheses on the non-payment issue.Although these are
simply experiences and perceptions from different regions and-or
individuals and institutions, they may nevertheless help us to
identify a commonality in order that the issue be holistically
addressed, and it is therefore an important exercise that NamWater
has embarked upon.Then there is the issue of NamWater's
predicament.From its point of view, the parastatal emphasised that
it had made losses since its inception - in the order of N$20
million in the 2002 and 2003 financial years, and the large amounts
owed by debtors continue to accumulate.It added that NamWater had
large debts to lenders and further borrowing was not possible.The
three components of NamWater's costs are capital, labour and power,
including maintenance and operating costs, and a lot of present
infrastructure was old and outdated and would need major investment
to repair.According to NamWater, it had been forced to cut its
employees from 1 000 to about 700 and cut down on other costs but
this, in turn, was beginning to inhibit its ability to supply
water.Income was limited by sales volumes and tariffs and NamWater
said that although sales volumes had declined in recent years
(which was good from the point of view of conserving resources)
this had a negative impact on the enterprise's financial
sustainability.Interestingly, the parastatal pointed out that per
capita consumption by towns with large debts to NamWater tended to
be about twice that of towns paying their accounts.NamWater said it
recognised that some towns did not have enough revenue from the
sale of water to consumers to cover the NamWater account, but in
this case, needed to call on central Government for a
subsidy.NamWater then estimated that at N$6,50 per kilolitre, basic
water for a household of five (about 8 kilolitres a month) would
cost N$52.If water came from a standpipe, consumption would be less
than half that so the cost in turn would be halved.This is not an
exhaustive report on the NamWater meeting, but it needs to be said
that NamWater should be commended for taking this initiative and
continuing the dialogue in an effort to solve what has become a
very vexatious problem.Hopefully the end result will culminate in
accessible, affordable water for consumers, and an end to
NamWater's financial predicament.