Keetmans Council offers lifeline for defaulters

KEETMANSHOOP residents have received an offer by the Town Council to add their outstanding municipal bills to their mortgage bonds with mixed feelings.

At a community meeting last week, the Town Council offered mortgage bonds to residents owing more than N$2 000 on water and electricity bills. The Mayor of Keetmanshoop, Simon Petrus Tiboth, said some residents could not register municipal houses brought under the 1992 alienation scheme because of the amounts they owe the municipality.The Town Council does not issue release certificates to residents with municipal arrears and this prevents many residents from registering their property deeds.Tiboth said the mortgage bonds would include the deed-of-transfer registration fees.He said the Town Council was suffering losses on property tax because municipal houses sold as long ago as 1996 still have not been registered.A survey conducted by a former councillor, Willie Kotze of Keetmanshoop Investment Company, at the request of the Town Council revealed that 472 erven have not been registered in the names of their new owners.A community member, Chris Willemse, said most residents, especially pensioners, would be unable to pay the mortgage instalments offered by the Town Council.”This means if they fail to repay the loans the council can attach their dwellings because of non-payment, meaning they will become homeless,” she said.The council needs to investigate a more affordable solution, she suggested.Kotze, who was called in by the Town Council to explain at the meeting the correct procedures to follow when buying property, said the Town Council resolution was in principle correct, but technical problems could surface when it is implemented.”The repayment term, instalment amount and interest rate on the mortgage bond loan are not include in the resolution,” he said.But he praised the council’s decision.”Residents can now sell their dwellings if they wish so or expand once the deed of transfer is completed,” he said.He said inefficient municipal officials and the ignorance of the residents contributed to the “property mess” at the Keetmanshoop Municipality.Community activist Henry Schulz expressed the same sentiments as Willemse.”In principle the idea is good, but I’m in doubt whether the idea will benefit residents, since this could be a just trick of the Town Council to lay their hands on the property of the residents because of municipal arrears,” he said.The Mayor of Keetmanshoop, Simon Petrus Tiboth, said some residents could not register municipal houses brought under the 1992 alienation scheme because of the amounts they owe the municipality.The Town Council does not issue release certificates to residents with municipal arrears and this prevents many residents from registering their property deeds.Tiboth said the mortgage bonds would include the deed-of-transfer registration fees.He said the Town Council was suffering losses on property tax because municipal houses sold as long ago as 1996 still have not been registered.A survey conducted by a former councillor, Willie Kotze of Keetmanshoop Investment Company, at the request of the Town Council revealed that 472 erven have not been registered in the names of their new owners.A community member, Chris Willemse, said most residents, especially pensioners, would be unable to pay the mortgage instalments offered by the Town Council.”This means if they fail to repay the loans the council can attach their dwellings because of non-payment, meaning they will become homeless,” she said.The council needs to investigate a more affordable solution, she suggested.Kotze, who was called in by the Town Council to explain at the meeting the correct procedures to follow when buying property, said the Town Council resolution was in principle correct, but technical problems could surface when it is implemented.”The repayment term, instalment amount and interest rate on the mortgage bond loan are not include in the resolution,” he said.But he praised the council’s decision.”Residents can now sell their dwellings if they wish so or expand once the deed of transfer is completed,” he said.He said inefficient municipal officials and the ignorance of the residents contributed to the “property mess” at the Keetmanshoop Municipality.Community activist Henry Schulz expressed the same sentiments as Willemse.”In principle the idea is good, but I’m in doubt whether the idea will benefit residents, since this could be a just trick of the Town Council to lay their hands on the property of the residents because of municipal arrears,” he said.