Minister Sankwasa owes NamWater N$174 000 amid councillor debt criticism

Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa owes N$174 000 to the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater), raising concerns of double standards after he recently urged councillors with unpaid bills to settle their accounts.

As of 30 November 2025, Sankwasa’s water debt stood at N$174 000, The Namibian understands.

Details of the debt emerged last week after the minister directed councillors with outstanding municipality bills to settle their debts, saying failure to do so sends the wrong message to the public.

Now, the minister faces accusations of hypocrisy – for the second time. Last year, debt collection company RedForce Debt Management alleged that Sankwasa had a history of unpaid accounts debt after it tried to recover N$140 000 in debt from two houses at Katima Mulilo.

In an interview with The Namibian this week, Sankwasa said his NamWater debt is linked to an account he inherited from his late mother, who shared his surname. He said he is now attending to its settlement.

“Trying to find fault to implicate me is a bit of a misguided missile. The account was for my late mother and her brothers at Masokotwani, while I stayed at Sikanjabuka,” he said.

“I took over the settlement of the account, which I discovered was outstanding. The fact that it’s not finally settled does not mean it will not be settled,” he said.

Asked if he could prove the debt is not his, Sankwasa said he is not “a holy cow”.

“In my statement to all councillors, if you listened to the live Namibian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast, I said I am not a holy cow as I equally have accounts. What is important is that we need to pay our accounts until we settle them,” he said.

He added that NamWater is not the only account he has.

“Is this witchhunt a result of my demand for outstanding bills from various local authorities? I don’t owe a municipality anything,” he said.

The Namibian reported last week that NamWater has implemented an immediate recruitment freeze until April to manage liquidity constraints caused by N$2.8 billion in outstanding debt from various customers.

NamWater said the debt stems from several local authorities, including the Rundu, Rehoboth, Keetmanshoop and Khorixas town councils, as well as the Gobabis Municipality.

Sankwasa has been urging these local authorities to settle their bills.

NamWater spokesperson Lot Ndamanomhata last week said the entity would not comment on individual customer accounts.

“NamWater respects client confidentiality and does not disclose individual customer account information, except where disclosure is legally required or directly necessary for the operational interests of the utility,” he said.

He added that the corporation applies a clearly defined and consistently implemented debt management framework to all its customers, without exception.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Speaking on behalf of his councillors, Landless People’s Movement spokesperson Lifalaza Simataa describes Sankwasa’s actions as hypocritical.

“This is quite hypocritical of the minister and reinforces the argument that he has failed to bridge the gap between central government and local authorities to ensure transitional development,” he says.

Simataa further accuses the minister of undermining councillors and limiting their ability to perform their duties.

“The minister has consistently pointed fingers, placed blame, challenged legitimate questions and sought to limit the authority of duly elected local authority councillors.

“We find it telling that he publicly criticises actions that he himself is guilty of. It is ironic,” he says.

Simataa says under the minister’s leadership there had been no collaborative efforts, only consistent attacks on local authorities trying to improve service delivery.

“There are no tangible benefits that speak to development,” he says.

Independent Patriots for Change Rundu Urban constituency chairperson Frans Kandjilu says Sankwasa’s actions might be viewed by some as a double standard, but that this has not deterred him from urging others to settle their debts.

He adds that the minister’s acknowledgment of his own debt demonstrates a level of honesty.

“Even if there are reasons why the debt was not settled earlier, it would show accountability for him to do so while urging others to settle their debts or accounts,” he says.

He adds that he should have also led by example.

“He has been very active on issues of service delivery affecting local authorities and village councils.

It is also important to note that, as a minister, one way of influencing subordinates at local authority level is by leading by example.

Ideally, he should have cleared his own account before urging others to do the same,” he says.

THE BATTLE

Sankwasa has over the past months put councillors under pressure to deliver on public service. However, he has been accused of double standards along the way.

Last year, he took on RedForce.

“RedForce has caused many economic and political challenges and problems for citizens and residents in all such local authorities that use the services of this company,” Sankwasa said.

RedForce was not impressed with the minister and accused him of waging a vendetta after being held accountable.

The company filed court papers last year, according to Namibian Sun, that two Katima Mulilo municipal accounts linked to Sankwasa were also handed to RedForce after years of alleged non-payment.

“One account was for Erf 305 at Boma at Katima Mulilo, and another for Erf 1289 in Ngweze – a property reportedly occupied by his daughter, Loide.”

Both accounts, the affidavit says, were repeatedly disconnected due to arrears, with more than N$140 000 recovered in total.

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