KEETMANSHOOP – Poverty has been partially blamed for non-payment of municipal services at Keetmanshoop, with the municipality owed a staggering N$46.6 million by residents, institutions and businesses at the town.
Keetmanshoop Municipality CEO, Desmond Basson, revealed the figures during an interview with New Era this week.
The municipality budget seen by New Era, clearly shows the local authority’s heavy dependency on income from services rendered, with erven sales, water, electricity and rates making up more than half of the municipality’s income.
Basson noted that although many municipalities have been in the news for the wrong reasons, they are trying their best with the limited resources at their disposal.
He said the municipality is facing a problem of providing services while residents do not pay for these services because they are poor – and this becomes a huge problem.
“It becomes a debt trap, you do not collect on time because people are poor and because you do not collect on time you cannot provide the services and so it goes in a cycle,” he outlined.
With a rapid influx of people to the //Kharas capital in search of employment, the number of people in the town is set to keep increasing and this correlates with the need for improved service provision, which puts the municipality under pressure as the need for potable water and other basic services increases.
In an attempt to solve the financial crisis, Basson said the municipality intends to appoint a debt collector on a “no collection, no fee” basis to start collecting whatever is owed by any person or organisation. Failure to settle the debts would result in water being cut off and possibly repossession of houses of the residents, he said.
“If this fails, we will be forced to repossess the houses but repossession is the absolute last option,” he emphasised.
The lack of funds at municipalities and town councils is very common, as last year media reports indicated that the Gobabis Municipality was drowning in debt with residents owing over N$34 million. On Tuesday the Namibian reported that the Municipality of Windhoek is struggling to recover N$500 million owed by residents, as it struggles to fund the City Police.