Windhoek
Regional Councillor for Katutura Central Constituency Ambrosius Kandjii has rejected and condemned the recent increase in water tariffs implemented by the City of Windhoek.
Kandjii said the constituency development committee had a meeting where they discussed the issue and had reservations about the price hike. “We want the municipality to postpone this. They must come and consult and hear our plight before they increase the water tariffs,” Kandjii stated.
He said his constituency has some of the poorest people and many households are without water and electricity.
“We are directly voted into office by the people in the constituency and I’m talking on their behalf. As the development committee we reject the tariffs.
“We condemn the situation. It is unacceptable. People are living below the breadline and if there is an increase they will suffer more. There should be proper consultation first,” Kandjii insisted.
Further, Kandjii, who has also been vocal about writing off the municipal debt of the elderly, said he believes CoW can devise mechanisms to solve the issue over the long term and not simply increase the tariffs.
City of Windhoek internal communication officer Scheifert Shigwedha earlier told New Era the tariff increases under discussion were necessitated by the fact that the City needs to charge “cost-recovery tariffs” on water consumption.
“It is proposed to charge the same as what we currently pay Namwater. We charge N$13.86 per cubic metre (m3), whereas Namwater charges us N$15.45/ m3. This will bring about a N$1.59/m3 (or 11.47%) increase for residential clients.
“Brakwater clients will also be affected to pay a cost-reflective tariff from current N$18/m3 to N$20.44/m3,” said Shigwedha. (A cubic metre is equivalent to 1 000 litres of water.)
He noted that sports fields in town, where potable water is still used, will have to pay N$17,77/m3, VAT included, and not the current tariff of N$4.55/m3. He argued that the reason behind this is that the City cannot pay Namwater for potable water at N$17.77/m3 and allow sport clubs to pay only N$4.55/m3.
Shigwedha added that the operational costs to produce irrigation water currently stand at N$5/m3, but customers using this water source pay only N$3.86/m3 at present.
This tariff is also subject to upward adjustment to N$5/m3.