Defaulters owe City of Windhoek more than N$800 million in municipal debt

Residents of Windhoek owe the city’s municipality more than N$800 million for water, rates, taxes and electricity accounts accumulated over the years.

This was disclosed by City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya during a recent interview with Nampa regarding city operations, service delivery and financial affairs.

“The total amount owed to the City of Windhoek by defaulters across water, electricity, rates and taxes is in excess of N$800 million, with arrears extending up to 120 days,” she said.

Despite this huge debt, Amutenya indicated that the city council has no outstanding obligations to its primary bulk service providers, including NamPower and NamWater. “All accounts with these suppliers are up to date,” she said.

She noted that the outstanding debt puts pressure on the city’s cash flow, consequently delaying the implementation of planned projects and affecting the pace of certain service delivery initiatives.

Amutenya mentioned that the city is actively implementing structured debt collection measures, which include payment arrangements, engagement with defaulters, credit control policies and enforcement mechanisms in accordance with municipal regulations.

“Recovery efforts are ongoing and form part of routine financial management processes,” she said.

The debt, amounting to N$1.2 billion in 2023, has since decreased due to a council debt write-off strategy that approved N$724 million in write-offs over the past two years.

Amutenya confirmed that approximately N$380 million has been processed and written off to date.

“This amount primarily relates to pensioner accounts and qualifying households in informal settlements under the previously approved categories. The remaining approved amounts will be written off progressively as verification, registration and committee approval processes are finalised, particularly for the newly approved beneficiary categories,” she said.

In November 2023, the Windhoek City Council approved a debt write-off totalling N$524 million. This write-off applied to registered pensioners, included a 50 percent reduction on interest for all account holders, and addressed ambulance service and communal water point accounts.

Subsequently, in November 2025, an additional debt write-off approval of N$200 million was granted, focusing on registered pensioners, individuals with disabilities, orphan-headed households and eligible NGOs and charitable organisations, with a registration and verification process currently in progress.

Amutenya further indicated that service restrictions have been enacted due to non-payment; however, the precise number of affected households cannot be determined at this time, as disconnections and reconnections are part of a continuous daily operational process.

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