Usakos faces power crunch

THE Usakos Town Council is confident that it will avoid a power cut tomorrow and has made frantic efforts to encourage residents to pay their outstanding bills.

The municipality’s office hours have been extended and doors are opening from six in the morning to six in the evening to enable residents to settle their debts. The community was to meet last night to discuss settling its debts in light of a payment of N$260 000 which must be made to power utility NamPower by tomorrow – or face a power blackout.The town is two months in arrears with its payments.Thanks to a prepayment last week by Hollastone Mine, one of the municipality’s biggest customers, the council was able to make a payment of N$100 000 on Friday to buy more time.Karibib residents were due to join their neighbours at Usakos last night to discuss their common problem of settling their huge debts to bulk utility suppliers.Karibib managed to pay enough money last week to win them a one-week reprieve.The Usakos Town Council has pleaded with residents to pay their accounts and even made appeals at church gatherings on Sunday.Chairperson of the Management Committee Daniel Stramiss appeared confident yesterday that a major crisis as a result of a total power outage, would be averted.He said good progress had been made in collecting money from residents who are estimated to owe the council about N$4 million.However, Stramiss said, it had been difficult to assess exactly what the council was owed because computer systems and other administrative mechanisms were not working efficiently.He said even though the new council had inherited a legacy of debt and mismanagement it was committed to paying its debtors with the little it had.Stramiss said the council was aware that the high poverty levels at the town made it difficult for residents to maintain a good payment record.”As a member of the Concerned Group and as a councillor I’m very concerned about the situation of the people.It is very difficult.There is no stable investment here to ensure that people have a job,” he said.He added that the council was trying to ensure that the issue did not become a political one in the wake of reports that the Congress of Democrats, which Stramiss represents on the council, campaigned to have outstanding consumer debts written off should they come to power in the May local authority elections.He shot down these allegations as false.”We are in constant communication with the people.We strongly believe the people won’t let the new council down,” he said.The community was to meet last night to discuss settling its debts in light of a payment of N$260 000 which must be made to power utility NamPower by tomorrow – or face a power blackout.The town is two months in arrears with its payments.Thanks to a prepayment last week by Hollastone Mine, one of the municipality’s biggest customers, the council was able to make a payment of N$100 000 on Friday to buy more time.Karibib residents were due to join their neighbours at Usakos last night to discuss their common problem of settling their huge debts to bulk utility suppliers.Karibib managed to pay enough money last week to win them a one-week reprieve.The Usakos Town Council has pleaded with residents to pay their accounts and even made appeals at church gatherings on Sunday.Chairperson of the Management Committee Daniel Stramiss appeared confident yesterday that a major crisis as a result of a total power outage, would be averted.He said good progress had been made in collecting money from residents who are estimated to owe the council about N$4 million.However, Stramiss said, it had been difficult to assess exactly what the council was owed because computer systems and other administrative mechanisms were not working efficiently.He said even though the new council had inherited a legacy of debt and mismanagement it was committed to paying its debtors with the little it had.Stramiss said the council was aware that the high poverty levels at the town made it difficult for residents to maintain a good payment record.”As a member of the Concerned Group and as a councillor I’m very concerned about the situation of the people.It is very difficult.There is no stable investment here to ensure that people have a job,” he said.He added that the council was trying to ensure that the issue did not become a political one in the wake of reports that the Congress of Democrats, which Stramiss represents on the council, campaigned to have outstanding consumer debts written off should they come to power in the May local authority elections.He shot down these allegations as false.”We are in constant communication with the people.We strongly believe the people won’t let the new council down,” he said.