Fed up with no concrete responses from City fathers, a large group of Katutura residents for the umpteenth time took to the streets yesterday to air their frustrations with high utility debts and the municipality’s use of Red Force to collect debt.
Led by the Katutura Residents Committee, the group of concerned residents conducted a peaceful march through Independence Avenue to the Government Park, where they submitted a petition to the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni.
In the petition, they urge the minister to demand the City of Windhoek to write off their debts, eliminate consumption estimates, introduce pre-paid electricity and water meter systems, and eliminate Red Force.
On receiving the petition, Uutoni said the issue will be resolved and he will speak to the mayor of Windhoek to give feedback to the Katutura residents within 72 hours.
The residents say many households in Katutura have endured years without access to basic necessities like water and electricity, a dire situation they brought to the City for relief but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears for over six months.
Benestus Kandundu, the chairperson of the Katutura Residents Committee, personally presented the petition.
Within its pages, they expressed a profound loss of trust in the leadership and council of the City, alleging that the municipality’s sole focus is on financial gain at the expense of residents’ hardships.
They also called for the introduction of an affordable payment plan.
“We are tired of waiting for a response, and we have run out of patience. City of Windhoek is not a profit organisation. Red Force is auctioning houses day in and day out. As I speak, there is a house in court,” stated Kandundu.
Shaun Gariseb, the spokesperson of the committee, made it clear that the minister has a mere 72 hours to respond to their petition.
He added that the City never took their plight seriously and residents feel left out.
“We have waited for too long; we have been taken for granted. We are undermined and feel left out. Minister, we don’t have patience left in us, nothing! The City continue to add interest to our already-high debts; they continue to close our water and electricity while we are waiting for answers. Red Force also continue to misbehave and mistreat us. We know you are a busy, but we have people with different circumstances, and we depend on your leadership,” he said.
Gariseb added that the City has failed the residents of Katutura so many times, and they cannot rely on them again.
He noted the situation is dire in Katutura, where people are drinking water from riverbeds – and some residents are living in fear, as they are afraid that Red Force will auction off their houses.
Gariseb said children come from school to a place where there is no water and electricity, and it is sad because they are unable to study at night.