WALVIS BAY – The dust won’t settle around the RedForce saga in Walvis Bay, as residents are now mobilising support for court action against the town council.
This turn of events came after a settlement agreement was reached between the Walvis Bay municipality and debt-collector
RedForce, in which the municipality apologised for recent allegations of fraud and misrepresentation against the company.
RedForce was contracted by the council in September last year for five years to collect more than N$300 million owed to the latter by ratepayers.
However, the appointment sparked outrage from the community, leading to calls for the cancellation of the contract. Councillor Ephraim Shozi tabled a motion to terminate the contract, and Metcalfe Beukes Attorneys were appointed to investigate the awarding of the contract.
As a result, RedForce approached the High Court. This led to the two parties signing a settlement agreement, stating that RedForce and the council would not proceed with any further action, and the matter was removed from the court’s roll and finalised. In the meantime, the motion was also withdrawn from council.
“The municipality of Walvis Bay hereby wishes to inform the public that the recent allegations of fraud and misrepresentation against RedForce Debt Management are entirely unfounded and factually incorrect,” said an apology from the municipality.
The statement noted that all accounts handed over to RedForce for collection would remain under their management until fully settled, with all collection methods in line with the council’s credit control policy.
Community activist Elvis Goseb, backed by the community, petitioned against RedForce’s appointment in the past. He told New Era that they plan to approach Metcalfe Beukes Attorneys to represent them against the council.
“We are challenging the legality of the RedForce/municipality contract, the mismanagement, and the council’s disregard for applicable laws,” he charged. He urged residents to unite and submit relevant documents to fight for justice.
Goseb added that residents are disappointed with the councillors’ performance since taking office, claiming that they have failed to engage the community.
“Residents elected them, but they’ve turned their backs on us. They don’t even hold public meetings to clear the air. Instead, they use social media (to communicate issues), which is unacceptable,” he stated.
Advocate Richard Metcalfe, who previously represented the Walvis Bay municipality, criticised the council after the settlement. He accused councillors of ignoring the law, failing to follow their own credit control policy, and imposing illegal levies on residents.
“Walvis Bay mayor Trevino Forbes said Namibia should be led by leaders, and not idiots. It is high time Forbes looked into his own disrespectful mirror,” Metcalfe said.
The lawyer stressed that such settlement agreements condone the extortion of illegal levies and fees from customers of the Walvis Bay municipality, tailored tender documents, and the ignoring of the municipality’s credit control policy.
“This is certainly not the fault of RedForce Debt Management CC. It is solely attributable to dishonourable politicians who lead the management of Walvis Bay, who impose
illegal levies on their customers, and who refuse to obey their own policies and procedures. Facts were presented through investigation, but the ‘ostrich head-in-the-sand’ approach has been resorted to by these so-called leaders,” he said.
Metcalfe added that these settlement agreements are a typical example of what leaders who describe themselves correctly would not agree to.
It is thus time for ordinary people, who are forced to pay illegal levies, to resort to mass action to get rid of disrespectful politicians who refuse to observe the law and ignore the credit control policy to milk Walvis Bay municipality customers, who struggle while the leaders languish in luxury, he continued.
Asked why residents were not engaged in the outcome of the court case, Forbes referred New Era to management committee chairperson Richard Hoaeb.
In turn, Hoaeb said the latest developments have not been communicated to residents, as certain matters still need to be finalised.
This publication reached out to RedForce, but they have yet to respond to questions.