The Windhoek municipality restored water to the Ministry of Works and Transport’s head office yesterday after it had been disconnected over an unpaid utility bill of N$9.66 million.
The ministry was without water for four days. The minister of works and transport was informed on Thursday after which he instructed officials to do the needful for the water supply to be restored.
The ministry only rushed to settle the bill after the water shortage became public and it emerged that taps at the building had run dry.
Minister Veikko Nekundi confirmed that he was informed last week that the water to the head office was suspended.
“I was alerted on Thursday that there was no water in the building and that it was cut because of an unpaid bill,” Nekundi told The Namibian on yesterday.
He said he immediately instructed officials to ensure that payment was made.
“I gave instructions that it must be paid,” he said.
“I am now informed that the payment was made and that the water is now restored,” he said.
Nekundi directed the ministry’s executive director (CEO) to investigate how the debt accumulated and why payments were not made on time.
“The ED must then take the appropriate action,” he said.
Nekundi did however, not indicate how much of the debt had been paid.
City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya has confirmed that the municipality reconnected water services to the ministry yesterday.
“What I am getting is that they paid and water was reconnected,” she says.
Amutenya says government ministries collectively owed the City of Windhoek about N$20 million as of last Friday.
The disconnection came after the deadline for settling outstanding municipal accounts expired on 7 June.
Last month, urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa directed all local authorities to disconnect services to government ministries with unpaid accounts if they fail to settle their debts by the deadline.
Social justice activist Michael Amushelelo, who tipped off The Namibian, says he discovered the water disconnection when he visited the ministry to hand-deliver a letter to Nekundi.
Amushelelo criticises the ministry’s leadership and questions how the situation had been allowed to continue.
The latest disconnection comes amid concerns about unpaid government utility accounts.
Two weeks ago, local authorities reported that government ministries, institutions and businesses owed them more than N$162 million.
In January, Sankwasa warned ministries and councillors to settle outstanding municipal debts or face disconnections and other sanctions.
Reports at the time showed that local authorities and councils owed the Namibia Water Corporation about N$2.4 billion as of March 2025.
The City of Windhoek has previously taken similar action of suspension of services against government institutions.
In 2021, it disconnected electricity to more than eight ministries and government agencies.
This included the ministries of safety and security, defence, agriculture, mines and energy, and lands and resettlement, over unpaid municipal accounts amounting to N$82 million.
