ONGWEDIVA – Residents at Eenhana Town Council owe the council N$29 million in water, rates and taxes as well as properties, the mayor Omri-Onn Kavandje said whilst tabling the budget recently.
Kavandje said there are still residents who have not honoured their water bills, despite council issuing several public notices, encouraging them to settle their accounts, stressing it is putting a strain on the council to meet its commitment with its bulk supplier.
The mayor also said some residents have not settled their accounts on properties, especially on paying off their land, putting council in a difficult position to fulfill its mandate.
“Council is calling upon all our residents to settle their debts so that we are able to sustain our operations. It is not our motto to disconnect service accounts but to educate our people to pay their dues so that council can continue with the supplying of services as so mandated,” said Kavandje.
But the council vows to employ more prudent and innovative revenue collection method, leverage our income streams and exercise sustainable spending measures in order to ensure that our heads stay above the water,” said Kavandje.
In addition to the debt, council is further challenged with space for its informal traders.
At present, the town only has one formal open market, leading to more people to trade illegally on the streets.
To remedy the situation, the council has identified various site locations to develop more open markets.
“We believe that such a move will ease the congestion at our open market and also help alleviate the need for more trading spaces at the town,” said Kavandje.
The Eenhana Town Council tabled a provisional budget of N$82 million for the 2021/2022 financial budget.
This year’s estimate is a 9% decrease from last year’s budget.
To this end, N$31 million is reserved for general operating expenses, while N$23 million is planned for capital projects.
Over N$22 million is set aside for personnel expenses, while the 6.8% of the remaining expenditure will be spent on repair and maintenance.