Debt hits salaries of municipal workers

THE pressure to pay for bulk water and power has resulted in municipal workers at Karibib not being paid.

Mayor Frans !Aoxamub said yesterday that the situation was the result of trying to settle its arrears to NamWater and NamPower. Employees were due to be paid on June 25.!Aoxamub said it was not unusual for them to receive their salaries five days late, depending on the financial position of the council.He said the municipality would do an audit of its books on Wednesday to determine whether they could pay their employees.At present, the council has a monthly income of only N$1 million while its monthly expenses, including salaries for about 30 employees, amount to half this figure.The towns of Usakos and Karibib have been burdened over the past two weeks with trying to get residents to pay for their services to avert a possible power cut for debts outstanding to NamPower.Officials from the power utility travelled to the town on Thursday to discuss the crisis.Chairperson of the Usakos Town Council’s Management Committee, Daniel Stramiss, said yesterday that the only resolution to the problem was encouraging residents to pay their accounts regularly.Usakos has not paid NamPower since April and is about N$500 000 in arrears.The monthly instalment to NamPower is in the region of N$80 000.Stramiss said a proposal by concerned business people that residents pay NamPower directly for electricity was rejected as it would be in contravention of the agreement between the two parties.Stramiss said there was no other course of action but to strengthen the drive to promote payment for services.A public meeting has been tentatively scheduled for tomorrow.Stramiss said the council planned to drive through the town close to month-end, using loudspeakers to remind residents to pay.He said NamPower had back-pedalled on earlier threats to cut the supply to the town for non-payment, but has instead pledged to pay regular visits to the town to assist in debt collection from residents.The Karibib Town Council last week took a decision to open a separate account into which payment for electricity would be paid as a mechanism to better determine how indebted residents were.Employees were due to be paid on June 25.!Aoxamub said it was not unusual for them to receive their salaries five days late, depending on the financial position of the council.He said the municipality would do an audit of its books on Wednesday to determine whether they could pay their employees.At present, the council has a monthly income of only N$1 million while its monthly expenses, including salaries for about 30 employees, amount to half this figure.The towns of Usakos and Karibib have been burdened over the past two weeks with trying to get residents to pay for their services to avert a possible power cut for debts outstanding to NamPower.Officials from the power utility travelled to the town on Thursday to discuss the crisis.Chairperson of the Usakos Town Council’s Management Committee, Daniel Stramiss, said yesterday that the only resolution to the problem was encouraging residents to pay their accounts regularly.Usakos has not paid NamPower since April and is about N$500 000 in arrears.The monthly instalment to NamPower is in the region of N$80 000.Stramiss said a proposal by concerned business people that residents pay NamPower directly for electricity was rejected as it would be in contravention of the agreement between the two parties.Stramiss said there was no other course of action but to strengthen the drive to promote payment for services.A public meeting has been tentatively scheduled for tomorrow.Stramiss said the council planned to drive through the town close to month-end, using loudspeakers to remind residents to pay.He said NamPower had back-pedalled on earlier threats to cut the supply to the town for non-payment, but has instead pledged to pay regular visits to the town to assist in debt collection from residents.The Karibib Town Council last week took a decision to open a separate account into which payment for electricity would be paid as a mechanism to better determine how indebted residents were.