Communities N$155 m in red on water

RURAL communities in Namibia jointly owe NamWater a staggering N$155,5 million for water supply – some of them for over four years.

The highest debts were run up by the eastern areas, which owe N$68,4 million, followed by residents in the Brandberg area, who owe N$48,1 million. Making the shocking revelation in the National Assembly yesterday, DTA politician McHenry Venaani asked Government to write off the debts as a matter of urgency.”This will prevent those communities from sinking even deeper into poverty,” Venaani said in the motion he tabled in the House.”If foreign nations are bailing out their financial institutions now with multibillion-dollar packages after the recent credit crisis, it would only be fair to bail out our needy citizens without delay,” he appealed to MPs.As proof of the accumulated debts and arrears, Venaani made copies available of NamWater’s written response to his enquiries.”The debts under discussion are for the customer category of Local Water Committees (LWCs) – 807 water supply points – and totally excludes the debt of individual private customers of NamWater,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Vaino Shivute, wrote in his reply of October 8.”It is clear that the LWCs owe NamWater a substantial amount of money over an extended period of time.NamWater and the relevant stakeholders appreciate the challenges facing these rural communities and in view of that continuously seek solutions to these problems,” Shivute wrote.In the short debate that followed, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange claimed some of the debts in eastern Namibia, like at Okakarara and surrounding areas, accumulated “because some political parties [the DTA] told people there not to pay and that was politically motivated”.DTA President Katuutire Kaura countered by saying that many Government ministries failed to pay their water debts to municipalities.”This is especially the case with the Education Ministry as the biggest defaulter.Is anyone politically motivating ministries not to pay so that Government has a bad image?” Kaura asked Tjiriange.Agriculture Minister John Mutorwa said Cabinet was dealing with the matter and was also discussing water tariffs.Mutorwa adjourned the debate until next Wednesday.Making the shocking revelation in the National Assembly yesterday, DTA politician McHenry Venaani asked Government to write off the debts as a matter of urgency.”This will prevent those communities from sinking even deeper into poverty,” Venaani said in the motion he tabled in the House.”If foreign nations are bailing out their financial institutions now with multibillion-dollar packages after the recent credit crisis, it would only be fair to bail out our needy citizens without delay,” he appealed to MPs.As proof of the accumulated debts and arrears, Venaani made copies available of NamWater’s written response to his enquiries.”The debts under discussion are for the customer category of Local Water Committees (LWCs) – 807 water supply points – and totally excludes the debt of individual private customers of NamWater,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Vaino Shivute, wrote in his reply of October 8. “It is clear that the LWCs owe NamWater a substantial amount of money over an extended period of time.NamWater and the relevant stakeholders appreciate the challenges facing these rural communities and in view of that continuously seek solutions to these problems,” Shivute wrote.In the short debate that followed, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Dr Ngarikutuke Tjiriange claimed some of the debts in eastern Namibia, like at Okakarara and surrounding areas, accumulated “because some political parties [the DTA] told people there not to pay and that was politically motivated”.DTA President Katuutire Kaura countered by saying that many Government ministries failed to pay their water debts to municipalities.”This is especially the case with the Education Ministry as the biggest defaulter.Is anyone politically motivating ministries not to pay so that Government has a bad image?” Kaura asked Tjiriange.Agriculture Minister John Mutorwa said Cabinet was dealing with the matter and was also discussing water tariffs.Mutorwa adjourned the debate until next Wednesday.