WALVIS BAY – The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) in Walvis Bay has objected to the proposed 2020/2021 tariff increase by the local municipality. The council last week tabled its budget and proposed an 8% and 5% tariff increase in water and other services, respectively.
However, the SPYL leadership on Friday objected to the proposed increase, saying it is mismatched with the current situation, especially now that the town’s residents are facing more job losses and salary cuts.
Edwig Nakale, the urban district secretary for information and mobilisation, said the economy of the town is currently disturbed; hence, no tariff increase should be considered at all.
“The proposed tariff adjustments do not speak to the users. Such adjustments should put the residents’ needs first and should also be realistic, taking in consideration that we are facing a challenging time with Covid-19,” Nakale said.
Nakale added that the council should rather fast track the allocation of plots at Farm 37. “This will minimise congestion in dwellings, make social distancing easier for our people and help in the fight to curb the spread of Covid-19,” she explained.
When contacted for comment, municipal CEO Muronga Haingura explained that the proposed tariff increase is based on the expected increase from the bulk suppliers Namwater and Erongo RED.
“I have telephonically confirmed that Erongo RED will not increase tariffs, based on the fact that Cabinet approved 0% increase to Nampower, who will pass this on to the regional electricity distributors,” Haingura said.
He added that Namwater also applied for an 11.2% tariff hike last year, resulting in council proposing for an 8% increase. Haingura then explained that there was no indication as to what the increase from Namwater will be at the time the municipality tabled its budget.
“There might be a 0% increase for Namwater as well. However, once we get official confirmation from both entities, we will revise our tariff structure accordingly, as the budget is not final at this stage,” he said.
– edeklerk@nepc.com.na