Uakutura Kambaekua
KAMANJAB - Residents and businesses owe the Kamanjab council a staggering N$13 million in rates and taxes stemming from its proclamation as a village council.
Around 2019, the debt stood at N$5 million.
According to the village CEO Bianca Nguaiko, the debt does not only consist of the water consumption alone, but also include the total amount from the unpaid Built Together loans of 123 beneficiaries.
The N$5 million is for unpaid municipal bills on 980 accounts alone, while another N$5 million is from loans disbursed towards the build-together project. An additional N$3 million is from unpaid erven loans.
“The monthly installments for erven vary between N$150 and N$450. Loans are allocated on a 60-month repayment schedule. Once the erf loan is redeemed in full, the person will qualify for housing,” she clarified.
Furthermore, the CEO said that the council resolved not to levy interest rates on outstanding accounts, which was a positive move as it encouraged the debtors to see how the accounts were reduced.
The village council, according to the CEO, owes water supplier NamWater more than N$3.5 million.
“Before Covid-19, this account was standing at zero. We are planning to clear these accounts within 12 months with the revenue from the sale of a block of erven to investors and rates and taxes. We have equally drilled boreholes, and income from the lease of camps will be used to cover NamWater debts,” said Nguaiko.
The village council also faces another predicament: vacant erven, which date back to the 1970s and haven’t yet been serviced, thus affecting the council’s accounts negatively.
“Another challenge is vacant properties being sold and not improving; this hurts our debt. These properties have remained vacant since 1974. Owners are nowhere to be found. The erven are fully serviced, and we are obliged to levy rates and taxes,” she added.
Last week, the Kamanjab Village Council approved the reconnection of 83 pensioners whose water was suspended with a reconnection fee of N$595.
“This amount includes N$250 toward old debts. Some pensioners’ bills are more than N$90 000 and there is no way they will be able to pay the outstanding amount. Thus, if the pensioner dies, the outstanding debt will be written off as unrecoverable debt,” stated Nguaiko.
Since the passing of this incentive on Monday, seven water connection and agreement forms have been signed. Equally, the council also did not increase the tariff for 2023/2024.