Africa-Press – Namibia. KATIMA Mulilo Town Council chief executive officer Raphael Liswaniso said it’s not fair that NamWater still places the town in the red flag category despite drastically reducing their debt.
Liswaniso was speaking during a NamWater stakeholders engagement at Katima Mulilo earlier this week, themed ‘Unlocking Stakeholder Value’.
Liswaniso said the town has managed to successfully manage its debt from N$43 million to N$11 million, and should be removed from the red flag category.
He said since 2017, the council have had an arrangement with NamWater to buy water on a prepaid basis using some of the amount owed, while NamWater takes a share from what they buy.
“We are the ones that came up with that proposal and you are even using it for Rundu. I don’t agree with us being red flagged because you are putting us in a bad light, while we are actually doing good business for you, and you have even taken it to other regions,” he said.
Liswaniso argued that NamWater supplied water for free to the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, the government did not honour their debts and now you place that debt of N$28 million on us. While in actual fact we only owe N$14 million, so we are not a risk at all.”
Liswaniso said it’s high time that NamWater takes charge of the town’s booster pumps, as they are mandated to supply bulk water.
He said the town council has been left to take responsibility for all technical issues involving the booster pumps and the responsibility to pump water when the underground reservoir is down.
“We have suggested that you build a reservoir above the ground, whereby NamWater promised to conduct a feasibility study to see how to assist the Katima Mulilo Town Council. This needs to be done because when our suction pumps suck water, it causes a problem with the prepaid meter; when the air passes through, it also eats from our credit,” he said.
Liswaniso admitted to Katima having shortfalls in the past but said this has changed since 2021, however, they are left to take responsibility for frequent pipe bursts.
“We even did not have water for the past two days in town and people don’t see NamWater because you are behind the curtain. They see the town council, who is supposed to supply them with water, and insult us on social media. Your pipe breaks have become a problem and those pipes need to be replaced as soon as possible,” he said.
A financial presentation by Saltiel Shaanika on behalf of NamWater’s chief financial officer Fernando Somaeb revealed that a significant portion of debt is owed by village and town councils.
“The collection rate on total outstanding debt is 1,67%. The collection rate on current invoices (May 2022) is 52,72%,” he said.
He said Katima Mulilo is one of the local authorities deemed to be high risk because of continued debt defaults.
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