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.