Eight Katutura residents who sued the Windhoek City Council about the city’s practice of estimating consumers’ monthly water use for billing purposes have lost their case in the Windhoek High Court.
The Municipality of Windhoek Water Supply Regulations of 1996 allow the City of Windhoek to estimate residents’ water use during months when water meter readings were not taken by city employees, judge Nate Ndauendapo found in a judgement delivered on Monday.
Ndauendapo dismissed a claim in which eight Katutura residents asked the court to declare that the City of Windhoek’s practice of estimating its customers’ water consumption during months when water meter readings have not been obtained is contrary to a section of the Local Authorities Act of 1992.
According to the city, it calculates and reverses cases in which customers were over-charged for water consumption when subsequent water meter readings show that residents used less water in a given month than what they were charged for.
The case against the city was launched by seven plaintiffs in September 2024.
At that stage, the plaintiffs were asking the court to issue a range of orders against the city, including declaring that the members of the Windhoek City Council have failed to uphold and exercise their powers, duties and functions as required in the Local Authorities Act.
The plaintiffs also asked the court to order the City of Windhoek to reconnect their water and electricity supply, and to declare that the city’s practice of using estimates of water consumption to charge residents for water is contrary to the Local Authorities Act.
The seven initial plaintiffs claimed the City of Windhoek had, by cutting the supply of water and electricity to their homes, subjected them to “deplorable living conditions and a gross violation of their human rights”.
They also claimed the city’s actions towards them were “unfair, unreasonable and unlawful”.
The city had no legal basis for cutting residents’ prepaid electricity supply because of unpaid water bills, and was acting contrary to a directive of the Electricity Control Board (ECB) when it did that, the seven plaintiffs claimed as well.
Most of the orders that the initial plaintiffs asked the court for fell by the wayside after a judgement in a case between the City of Windhoek and the ECB was delivered in the Windhoek High Court in March this year.
In that judgement, the court ruled that the city cannot cut residents’ prepaid electricity for debt to the city that is not related to electricity.
The court also found that the city may not reduce or discontinue electricity supply where a customer is up to date with electricity payments, but in arrears on rates, taxes, water or other municipal services.
Ndauendapo remarked that in his judgement “the practice of estimation of water consumption is regulated by law”.
He noted that the Municipality of Windhoek Water Supply Regulations state that the city may estimate the quantity of water supplied to its customers during a period between successive water meter readings, and that the city may bill consumers for the quantity of water they are estimated to have used.
In terms of the regulation in question, the city is entitled, even if it has not carried out a water meter reading, to charge consumers for water supplied based on an estimate, Ndauendapo said.
He added that the regulation stems from a part of the Local Authorities Act that states that a local authority may make regulations in relation to the supply, distribution and use of water in its local authority area.
The plaintiffs were represented by lawyer Henry Shimutwikeni.
The City of Windhoek was represented by Tinashe Chibwana and Ronald Ketjijere.
